Deal With the Devil
by Orochimaru-han
Summary: After his battle with Ulquiorra, Ichigo decides that he needs to be stronger to be able to protect his friends, so he makes a deal with the devil inside of him. HichiIchi, implied IchiRuki and others Ch279 R
1. The Deal

Rather than feeling like there was a hole in his chest, it felt like a great weight was pressing down on him, squeezing the life out of him a bit at a time. He was drowning, he knew, drowning in his own blood, the very thing that offered him life seeping into his lungs and staining the once white floor on which he lie.

Ichigo's thoughts were becoming harder and harder to grasp, and even harder to hold onto, but for a fleeting moment he realized that there may yet be a way to live, a way to succeed in this war beyond that. All he had to do was get stronger, strength he already had at his finger tips, just barely out of his grasp. Though maybe, just maybe, it was attainable with the right tools.

He found it strange that it was easier to think here, in his inner world, that his mind was clear, and he couldn't feel the pains of his outside injures standing here, but it was not something to dwell on.

It was raining.

"Oi!" He called out, knowing he didn't have to yell to be heard, but doing what felt natural to him. In this place there was no such thing as time or distance.

"You called, King?" The mocking voice of the hollow flitted through the air, and Ichigo turned to see his counterpart perched on the ledge of a building slightly higher than the surface on which he stood.

"We're dieing." Ichigo stated plainly, not in the mood for games, not having time for games.

That horrible, high pitched laughter was his response. "No King, you're dieing. Not 'we'. And I told you," The hollow crossed the distance between them, coming face to face with the orange haired Shinigami. "You better not die before we have the chance to fight again."

Ichigo swung his fist at the hollow, but his white clone jumped back in time, more laughter filling the otherwise quiet world. "It's raining King, but it won't be for much longer. Too bad you won't be here to see it."

Lightning flashed across the dark skies, silence followed it.

"When you die," That impossibly wide grin grew wider still, "I'll be king of this world."

Ichigo's hands were balled into fists at his side, the hairs on the back of his neck rose whenever he was in the presence of his hollow, and the urge to fight rose inside of him. Instinct to defend himself against something dangerous, something that threatened his existence, but right now something he needed.

"Work with me." The words were impossible hard to say, but now they were out there, suspended between them.

"What?" The hollow looked shocked, then doubled over, unable to breathe he was so amused. "Is this some kind of joke?"

"Why would I joke at a time like this?" His anger was getting the better of him, but he forced it back down. This was not the time to let his goals slip away from him, because it would be the last time.

"Fine, fine, so you want me to play nice and work with you, to stop trying to take your throne." He paused, a sadistic gleam in his eyes. "You want my full power. That's going to come at a high price, what are you offering me?"

Ichigo wasn't expecting this, he had known it would take some convincing, but what could he offer the hollow, what did he have, besides control, that the hollow would want? "Name your price." This was a dangerous game, but the cost of losing would be higher still than anything the ghostly white figure before him could offer.

"That's a stupid thing to say King. You're desperate, but then again, you're dying." Suddenly the hollow became serious. "What do I want? Complete control is out of the question, so what else can I take from you?" The grin returned, and Ichigo's heart found itself in his throat, he reminded himself that this was the best way, possibly the only way to win this war. "I'll make this easy on you, since you came and asked me so nicely." The hollow, white shihakusho clinging to his skin and heavy with rain and wet hair sticking to his face and flat against his head, seemed more menacing in this moment than he had before. "No one can touch you."

"I can't avoid people touching me." Ichigo shot back, the fear and anticipation evaporating to anger once more. "Someone could bump into me and the deal would be broken."

"Don't be stupid!" The hollow snapped back, his own anger showing through. "That's not what I meant, and you know it. You can't have any intimate relationships, no intimate contact. You can't kiss, hug, have sex, nothing. If you're going to use me, you're going to belong to me. No one can touch you. Maybe if that bump was something you liked, instead of an accident."

Ichigo didn't know what to say, staring into those black and gold eyes. That was a steep price, steeper than it sounded, and probably steeper than he knew. No, they would die otherwise, then there would be no point, he had to agree. "Fine, it's done."

"Good, then get out of here. We've got company, Aibou."

"Nell... and...Inoue?" Ichigo stared up into the face of the girl he had come to save, and had ended up saving him. He could feel that the hole in his chest was gone, his breathing was easier, blood no longer filling his lungs.

"Kurosaki kun!" "Ichigo" Both spoke at the same time, the Arrancar he had seemed to have adopted staring down at him from over Inoue's shoulder, relief on her face, and tears in her eyes. She had been crying, was still crying for him, even though they'd only known each other for such a short time. It was strange to think that a heartless being could care so much for a stranger.

"Shut the hell up you two," Another familiar voice cut in. The hollow hadn't been kidding when he had said they had company. "If you have time to talk, then hurry up and fix him."

"Grimmjow... why are you with Inoue?" How could she be healing him with the one Arrancar who wanted him dead, more than anyone else, standing only a few feet away. Grimmjow had been trying to kill him since they met, hungry for a good fight, and coming to Ichigo because he was the strongest of Aizen's enemies.

The Sexta Espada glared down at him, the orange haired Shinigami had been flipped onto his back while he was unconscious, and was now staring up at everyone from his position on the floor. "Shut yer mouth and get fixed. The only reason I'm here is to settle things with the uninjured you."

"Grimmjow..." Inoue looked shocked, and disgusted. "So that's why you're making me fix--"

"SHUT UP, I SAID!" The blue haired Espada yelled, temper on a short fuse. "I'm allowing you to fix this guy, who was close to being dead, stop complaining!" He seemed anxious, like he was waiting for something to happen something to interfere. Ichigo hadn't seen Grimmjow act like this in there previous encounters. "Just hurry up, it won't take long before Ulquiorra realizes what's happening and comes back. Before that I'll--"

As if saying the Cuatro Espada's name had been a summons, the diminutive Arrancar appeared. This was going to turn ugly. Before, even with his hollow powers, Ichigo hadn't been able to put a scratch on him, and even with Inoue's help he wasn't anywhere near full health. Besides, as much as Grimmjow wanted to fight him, and him alone, he doubted that the Espada would go against the higher rank just for that. For now, all he could do was watch the exchange between the two through the yellow glow of Inoue's powers.

"Ulquiorra."

"What are you doing Grimmjow?"

Grimmjow didn't respond, looking back to check on Ichigo's progress, he still wasn't healed yet, still wasn't able to stand, but it shouldn't be too much longer. Ichigo could feel the strength returning to him, and the pains of wounds he had forgotten were receding.

"I'm asking you, what are you doing?" Ulquiorra repeated himself, the tension between the two Espada palpable even if the smaller one's voice remained dead pan, devoid of any emotion that could reveal what he was thinking. "Going through all this trouble to heal an enemy that I defeated. What are you trying to accomplish?"

Again the question was left unanswered, the blue haired Espada defiant in his silence, staring down the other as if trying to glare another hole through him.

"Very well." Ulquiorra seemed to be un-phased by the turn of events, his expression and attitude as unchanging as always. Calm and collected he moved about his business in an almost casual sort of way. "But first and foremost, I have been ordered by Aizen sama to take care of that woman next to you. Return her to me."

"I refuse." Ichigo, though Grimmjow was turned away from him, could here the cockiness in his voice, and could almost see the arrogant grin on his face.

Ulquiorra didn't respond for a minute, his thoughts hidden behind an unbreakable mask, and clear, unreadable eyes. "What did you say?"

"What's the matter?" Grimmjow's spiritual pressure increased, filling the room with his insane killing intent. "You sure talk a lot today, don't ya, Ulquiorra?" He leaped at the other Arrancar, hand extended and the beginnings of a cero forming.

For the first time, Ichigo saw something close to an expression on the Cuatro Espada's face, the slight widening of eyes giving the impression of shock, making the doll like appearance seem more real, but nonetheless, the attack was stopped with a single hand. The Sexta Espada having no better luck than Ichigo had against the same opponent not long before.

"I know all about it, Ulquiorra, you're afraid to fight me, aren't you?" He could hear it, the excitement of the fight, in Grimmjow's voice. He knew that grin was on that face. "You're afraid of crushing each other to bits!" Ichigo could no longer see what was happening, his vision was too limited by his position on the ground, and the translucent yellow aura around him. He could hear their fight though, and Grimmjow's taunting. "Ha, so you deflected it, I guess one shot won't be enough."

The sound of more ceros being fired off filled the air, and Ichigo could only be shocked at the idea of two Espada, two of Aizen's highest ranking and most trusted followers, fighting each other. "_What are you complaining about, Aibou?" Isn't this what you wanted, didn't you want them dead? That's what my power is for right, crushing your enemies to dust. But you're too weak, too weak to do it yourself, so just let them crush each other." _The strangely distorted voice of his hollow filled his mind, muting any outside sounds, one of the explosions from the fight almost went unnoticed to him over the sound of the hollow speaking. "_If this girl is as useful as you all seem to think she is, then we'll get our turn. They can't both die from this, they're not even serious._"

He missed the end of the fight, distracted, and found himself hearing the aftermath as Grimmjow spoke to Inoue once again. He didn't know what happened to Ulquiorra, but something told him that whatever it was, the Espada was not dead yet.

"I didn't ask for your god damned opinion." He could see Grimmjow again, he had Inou by the throat, but he wasn't choking her, not seriously anyway. He was just getting his point across in the only way he knew how, threats and violence. "Fix him." He needed to get up now, it was time to fight, and time to finish what he had come here to do. He was healed enough now, enough to draw his zanpakuto and defend his friends.

Her hands wrested on his larger one, a futile attempt to free herself. "You're going to hurt Kurosaki kun again, if I heal him, aren't you... Then... then I don't want to." She didn't want to see anyone hurt, she was far too kind for that, would sacrifice everything to protect those around her.

"You--" Ichigo reached outside the yellow field surrounding him, forcing himself up, and grabbed Grimmjow's wrist.

"Let go of her." He pried the hand away from Inoue's throat, and the Sexta jumped back, putting some distance between them, ready to fight it out, always ready to fight.

"Kuro--"

"Inoue" He cut her off, speaking over her, he didn't know what she was going to say, didn't want to hear it. He had his resolve to fight, his reasons to fight, and he couldn't let her say anything that might take them away, couldn't allow any logic to interfere with what he had to do. "Please heal me."

"Eh?"

"Please heal me." He looked back over his shoulder at her, he was here to be her shield now, now that she was in his grasp he had to protect her, that's what he had come to do. "My wounds, and his wounds as well."

"Stop that." Grimmjow spat, interrupting and bringing attention back to the situation at hand. "I don't want your god damn pity."

"I don't want pity either." Ichigo shot back, the adrenaline already beginning to pump through his veins, they wouldn't be able to wait. This fight had been coming for a long time, and he couldn't say he wasn't excited. "You want us to fight on equal ground right? Or, perhaps," He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. "You would rather keep those wounds as an excuse for when I beat you?"

Grimmjow had his zanpakuto drawn and the distance between them cut in a flash, but it was long enough for Ichigo to draw his own zanpakuto, just long enough. "So be it."

"Let's kill each other on equal grounds then." Grimmjow finished for him.

They pulled away from each other, re sheathing their swords and separated themselves. Grimmjow walked over to a pile of what had once been a pillar and sat there, while Ichigo crouched where he was as Inoue healed him then moved onto the other. It didn't take long, which was good, both knew, both could feel that they didn't have a lot of time for this. Others would notice that Ulquiorra's reiatsu had disappeared all of a sudden, and that Ichigo's was back to normal, whereas he had been dieing moments before.

"_This is it, Aibou. What you wanted, what you came crawling to me for. Is it worth it, are you excited for this momen_t? His hollow was speaking to him again, and he could feel it's excitement for the fight beginning to infect him, adding to his own, but he couldn't forget that he had a purpose here, that he wasn't in Los Noches for fun, for the adrenaline rush of a fight, to prove that he was the strongest.

"Shut up." He thought back to the hollow, the temptation to speak out loud just avoided, it was hard to remember, with the voice so clear, that he was the only one who could hear it. "He's not the only one, and definitely not the strongest. If we can't beat him, then there was no point."

"_We're not going to lose. I'm not going to lose, I'm not that weak. This guy's nothing_." Confidence radiated in that voice, not just the usual arrogant confidence, but a sureness that came only with knowing you're own strength.

"Don't give me that look, Nell." The child like Arrancar was near tears again, worried that she would see him injured like she had when he had fought Ulquiorra only a short time ago. He wouldn't put her through that again though, there was no need. He glanced over his shoulder, giving Inoue a confidant smile, that too seemed to be infecting him. "You either Inoue." He faced her, the excitement of the fight working it's way through him. "Don't worry, I'll definitely win."

He turned to the fight waiting for him, sparing one last smile for the girls before he faced his opponent. "We're moving location, Grimmjow." Both of them were serious as they relocated to the top of one of the towers, far away from the two bystanders.

Even as they landed, Ichigo changed into his bankai form. The fight had already begun, all that they were waiting for was to see who would strike first, and who would be standing at the end.

Their first strike met in mid air, Grimmjow jumping down from his elevated perch and him rushing up to meet the Espada. The loud crash of steel on steel filled the otherwise silent air of Los Noches, and once again Grimmjow wore an expression of excitement, the thrill of battle pulsing through his veins.

Over and over again their zanpakuto met, strike, counterstrike, dodge, block, strike again. Each looking for and attacking any openings they happened to see, or imagined had been created. It was a matter of who was that much faster, able to think that much quicker on their feet.

Swords locked the struggled to push the other back, to pierce flesh and draw blood. Ichigo managed to shove the blue haired Espada's sword aside, Grimmjow jumping back out of range of attack, hand outstretched and the light of a cero gathering in his palm. Using the speed that his bankai allowed him, Ichigo brought his zanpakuto back up to block the cero.

"_Now's the time, Aibou. Kill him, kill him, use it and kill him_." His hollows laughter filled his head, manic and full of blood lust, so simillar to Grimmjow's laughter in that sense that it was bone chilling.

"Getsuga--" Grimmjow threw his sword away, shock cutting him off mid sentence. With his other hand now free, the first still grasping the blade of his bankai, he fired off another cero blasting a hole right through the tower they fought on.

Grimmjow's laughter echoed that of the hollow in his head. "This is great! I've been waiting for this, waiting to crush you at your full strength! It's the same for you right?! RIGHT, KUROSAKI ICHIGO?!"

Ichigo glared at his opponent, the mark of the cero blast evidenced by the wound on his face. "I'm not fighting just for the sake of busting you up, ya know." He wanted this fight, his blood sang with the need for it, the hollow echoing its call in his mind, feeding him with the need to kill the Sexta Espada.

"Don't talk like that! Shut it!" Another mood change from Grimmjow, he was pissed again, angry with Ichigo's responce. He wanted him to fight just for that sake alone. "KILL ME! It's always about your little buddies with you. I'm gonna tear you away from them and kill you!" Contempt filled his eyes as he glared down at him. "I won't forgive you... There's a reason I left this scar on me," He pointed to the mark of their first encounter, decorating him from left shoulder to right hip, the mark of Getsuga Tensho. "And you just don't get it. I'm gonna slit your fuckin' throat, and make ya understand which of us is stronger!"

Grimmjow came at him again, full speed, recovered zanpakuto in hand; he swung from over head, straight up and down, as if to cut Ichigo in half. "This fight ain't about saving your friends, or avengin' those who died coming her for that. This is about what it's been about from the start. Provin' yer strength." He attempted another cero from under their locked blades, causing Ichigo to make a hasty retreat.

"_What are you doing? Call me out, kill him!" _The hollow screamed at him, restraining himself from trying to grab control away. At least he was sticking by their deal, if only by a thread.

"No! That's what he wants. He wants me call you out, he's expecting it. We have to wait, have to do it at the right time." He only had eleven seconds, just eleven seconds in which he could kill Grimmjow once his mask was on.

"_Don't be stupid! We can kill him, we can kill him now._"

"Don't get distracted, Ichigo!" Grimmjow was rushing him again, but he hadn't noticed, to caught up with arguing to realize he was still fighting, still in danger. Once again he brought up his sword to block Grimmjow's swing, but it was forced aside, the silver white of the Espada's zanpakuto pushing the pure black of his own to the side and down, blade almost parallel with the ground. "Focus on the fight, focus on killing me. Cause if you don't there's no point in killing you. Stop thinking about your friends. They aren't important right now, they can't help you, and if anything happens, you can't help them. RIGHT NOW YOU BELONG TO ME!" Grimmjow leaned in across the distance between them, separated by their two swords, and kissed him. It was raw, possessive, angry, threatening, and most off full of his fiery intent to kill. It was not a romantic kiss, a kiss for love or caring, it was a mark of ownership.

Ichigo forced his zanpakuto back up, sending Grimmjow flying backwards. The blue haired Espada landed on his feet, sliding a few feet further. Ichigo spit off to the side, and ran his sleeve over his mouth. His entire body shaking with anger and the desire to kill, to draw blood, so strong it was incomparable to anything he had felt before. "Bastard."

Grimmjow threw his head back and laughed. "That's it, that's the look. Now kill me! Hate me, despise me, and kill me!" He raised his hand, the light of a cero gathering there, a familiar site by now, and time seemed to stand still.

"_That's not what we agreed on, Aibou._" Ichigo shuddered as those words flitted through his mind. He felt as if ice cold hands were on his skin, clawing at him, dragging him down into deep dark waters to die. He couldn't breathe again, the air forced from his lungs, and the hair on the back of his neck stood on end.

"No! Don't come out now, I didn't break the deal. I didn't want that, and I didn't know it was coming." It was too late, those hands were dragging him down too fast for him to have time to struggle, and he was just a spectator in his own body, only allowed to watch as his life was played out by another.

Even as the cero was being fired, Ichigo had moved, moved so fast that before the blast was complete he had the Sexta Espada's wrist grasped in his hands. "You're too slow." He laughed, enjoying the freedom, and also the fight, a fight on his terms. Grimmjow stared at him in wide eyed shock for no more than a half a second before he raised his zanpakuto, but before he could bring it down in a strike, the hollow threw him across the surface of the tower. The Arrancar landed hard, bouncing and rolling across the rooftop before slamming against the wall with a sickening thud, the wall cracking from the impact.

Grimmjow stood, blood dripping down the side of his face, his normal grin in the heat of battle gone, replaced with a suspicious glare. "Who the fuck are you?" His clothes were torn and bloodied now, just from that one attack.

Resting his zanpakuto on his shoulder casually, the hollow smirked at Grimmjow. "That's a stupid question. I'm your opponent." His mask was just beginning to form, starting over one black and gold eye and spreading over his face. Ichigo's yelling a low murmur in the back of his mind.

"You ain't the ass hole I was just fightin'." Grimmjow spat, infuriated. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YA?!"

The hollow laughed, the strange distorted quality of his voice taking over, replacing Ichigo's normal, steady voice. "Does it matter? I'm going to kill ya either way." He closed the gap between them, sword pressing down on Grimmjow's, their faces inches apart. "It doesn't matter who I am, because you're gonna die anyway." He pulled away and swung again, coming in low and putting a gash across Grimmjow's thigh as he tried to dodge out of the way.

"I'm not here to fight you. I'm here to fight that bastard Ichigo." The Espada ignored the blood running down his leg and staining his hakama brightly. "Now, who the fuck are ya?"

"Every time I come out, someone's gotta ask me that question. So, I'll tell ya, just like I told the last guy: I don't have a name." He attacked again, a rapid succession of swings, coming from all sides. His now complete mask hiding the expression of glee written across his face. He was too fast for Grimmjow, but that didn't matter, he was toying with him anyway.

--

Ichigo stood alone in his inner world, he turned in circles, looking for the familiar figure in white. He'd retreated here after he realized that there was nothing he could do just watching. "COME OUT!" He shouted, frustrated, not knowing what to do. He should have known better than to make a bargain with something that wanted nothing more than to destroy him. "COME OUT RIGHT NOW!"

"Calm down, Aibou." Ichigo whipped around, the bankai form of his hollow standing a few feet away, Zangetsu hanging in his loose grip. "I'm right here, I didn't go anywhere."

"Give me control back!" Ichigo shouted, lightning flashing across the sky, in mimicry of their earlier discussion. "Give it back, or I'll force it back." Slowly the first rain drops began to fall.

The hollow ignored him, instead looking up into the inky blackness of the sky. "It's raining again." He stated, hand coming up to wipe one of the droplets from his face.

"That's not important--"

"OF COURSE IT IS!" The hollow cut him off, black and gold eyes coming to focus sharply on him. "This world is controlled by the King, and it's not raining here because of me."

Ichigo stood in shocked silence, the rain beating down at a steady pace now, soaking through his clothes and dripping off his hair. "Then why?"

"Why? WHY?! Because it was the perfect god damned excuse to kill that sorry excuse for an Arrancar. Because you were so out of it, so unbalanced by what he did that it wasn't even difficult ripping control away from you." He swung his sword violently to the side, sending water droplets flying in all directions instead of just one. "I'm going to kill him and stop this rain. I'M SICK OF IT!"

Lightning flashed again, silent and without the accompanying thunder, the down poor becoming a drizzle. "Let me finish it." Ichigo finally said. "Let me end this, it's my fight."

"It's our fight!" The hollow cut in. "It's both our fight."

"Then let me fight it too! That was the deal wasn't it, that we work together?" Ichigo stomped across the space between them, grabbing a fistful of white shihakusho and dragging the hollow closer. "That's what the deal was about, fighting together. If it's our fight, then lets finish it together." He was yelling in the hollows face, even though there was no noise to be heard over, the rain all but stopped. "Let me back out."

The hollow grinned. "That actually sound's like a half decent plan, _Aibou_."

--

Grimmjow glared at him from a few yards away, one arm hanging limply by his side, the other holding onto his zanpakuto as if it were his only life line, and it was his only life line. Ichigo reached up, pushing the mask aside to expose his face. His eyes were still that of the hollow's, but his expression was serious once more. "Let's finish this."

"You finally decided to show back up," He turned his head to the side, spitting blood. "Ichigo."

"Sorry to keep you waiting." The dual quality to his voice seemed more natural than his normal voice to his ears.

"Took ya long enough." Grimmjow straightened up, adjusting his one handed hold on his zanpakuto. Ichigo didn't know how long he had been out of control, seconds, minutes, hours. It was all the same to him, time didn't matter in that world, and it didn't matter now, because this fight was over.

"Stop."

Both of them turned to look at the source of the voice, low, even and commanding.

"Ulqiorra." Grimmjow's voice was filled with anger, Ichigo's surprise. The Cuatro Espada appeared uninjured from his earlier encounter with the Sexta Espada, meaning there had been some sort of a twist to the end of their fight, only it wasn't really over if he was back now.

"How the hell'd you get out of there so damn fast?" The blue haired Espada demanded, obviously holding himself off from attacking Ulquiorra.

"Something like that is meant to hold trash, not Espada." Was the calm reply, intense green eyes locked on to his ally, and now his enemy too.

"Tch, well just wait a fuckin' minute while I finish this up, then I'll get to you." Grimmjow turned back to Ichigo, and Ichigo faced him again, but kept one eye on Ulquiorra, doubting that he would stay out of this fight.

"No," Ulquiorra flashed infront of Grimmjow, fist slamming hard into his stomach, just above the hollow hole. Already weakened from the fight so far, the Sexta Espada lurched forward, unconscious. Ulquiorra slung the limp figure over his shoulder, the other in his hakama like one would use a pocket. "This fight is over, gather what is left of your friends and leave."

"I'm taking Inoue with me!"

"She's already been relocated." Ulquiorra turned, and then dissapeared.

Ichigo could no longer feel their reiatsu. Not Grimmjow, Ulquiorra, Inoue, or even Nell. They were gone.

"_It's not over, Aibou._"

"I know."

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	2. Harder Than You Know

**Author's note:** Thanks for the reviews. They were wonderful in helping me actually be inspired to work on this, seeing as I'm a lazy bum.

Hope you enjoy this chapter, not as much action, but there will be more starting very soon, have to build up plot and all that silly stuff.

Now, onto the important part!

The nights were just starting to grow colder now, the beginnings of fall creeping in on Kurakura town. The sun had set a few hours ago, making it close to the middle of the night, the empty streets observed only by the stars littering the inky black sky.

It had been a week now, since the return from Hueco Mundo, their mission to retrieve Inoue failed. A week of shattered ego's, hurt pride, and broken bodies. A week of picking up broken pieces and trying to put them back together.

Ichigo had had every intention of following Ulquiorra, and finishing the war then and there. It had been possible, it had been in his grasp, now that he'd made the deal with his hollow. Now that the two of them were working together he'd found that there was not really a time limit for how long he could wear his bone mask and fight, there was nothing inside of him clawing at his soul for control. None of that had mattered though, almost as soon as the thought had crossed his mind, he'd felt both Renji's already weakened reiatsu and Ishida's both drop off next to nothing.

He'd thought they were dead.

At that point he'd had no choice, not one he could make and live with himself anyway. They were there to rescue Inoue, but not at the cost of their own lives, not at the cost of everyone's lives. Ichigo couldn't let that happen. He couldn't sacrifice everyone for one person, like they had threatened to do in Soul Society, first Sado, and then Ishida's reiatsu disappearing and the ax waiting to drop on Rukia. They were friends, and they all had to get through this together. Wasn't that the point?

Ichigo had done what he could, gathering the broken bodies of his friends, so many lives hanging in the balance, and headed back to Urahara's shop. After that, he could really only leave them to the ex twelth division captain.

Foot steps crunching over the gravel brought him out of his thoughs, looking up to see a familiar silhouette. "Rukia."

"What are you doing all the way out here Ichigo?" She asked, knowing the answer. It was hard for any of them to sleep right now, with so much going on in their lives. He'd become restless, pulled on a pair of jeans and the first t-shirt he could find and gone out, ending up in a park a few blocks away from his home, staring at the dirt beneath a park bench.

"Just getting some air. What are you doing out here?"

"The same."

Silence hung between them for a long moment, before the crunching of gravel resumed and Rukia plopped herself down on the bench beside him. However, whereas he'd been staring down, she turned her eyes upwards, bright pinpricks of light reflecting of her eyes.

"How are Ishida and Renji doing?" Ichigo finally asked, softly spoken words sounding too loud in the still night air.

"They're doing better, Urahara san expects them to wake up any day now." A soft smile, full of regret, graced her lips as she continued to count the stars. "He says that it was some sort of chemical or something. That even though they weren't too bad off on the outside, their spirits were poisioned." She paused, taking a breath. "They're going to be okay though."

Ichigo nodded, and went back to his study of the ground, though it was hard to make out any sort of details. A breeze picked up, leaves rustling in the trees littering the park for a heart beat before it settled again.

"Have you been in contact with Soul Society yet?" Ichigo knew Byakuya had helped Rukia and Renji sneak to Hueco Mundo, even against Yamamoto's orders, but that didn't mean they wouldn't be in trouble when the returned, and they didn't have success as a buffer to whatever punishment awaited them.

"I spoke with Onii sama this morning, he says we're to return as soon as Renji is able to move around again." He could hear the admiration in her voice, Byakuya having come to mean a lot more to her since the revelation of his past and her sister. "I don't know what he did, but the punishment doesn't seem to be like it's going to be so bad, I think he took some of it himself."

Ichigo could say that he was more than a little relieved that mister High and Mighty had pulled the metaphorical stick out of his ass. Byakuya was a good example that sense could be beaten into someone. "That's good then." Their conversation died off again, even if it was just idle chatter. Neither of them could say what was really weighing on their minds, couldn't bring up their recent failure.

Ichigo didn't blame any of them, they just weren't prepared for what they faced, weren't strong enough to go up against the Espada, not yet anyway. They would have to be soon though, they only had a few months left, at most. Then he would make his stand, and use his full power to take Aizen down, take him down like he should have a week ago,

"Ichigo." Rukia's voice was a whisper, and he looked up to see her staring at him from across the short distance between them. They were so close, yet so far apart. Hundreds of years and more lie between them, promises, and so many other things. Yet, she was right there, less than a foot from him. "It's going to be okay." It was a question, in the same that it was a statement of fact.

She was so close, he could feel her warm breath ghosting over his face, the steady puffs of air brushing his lips with feather light touches. Was it even a foot? No, that gap between them was narrowing, and all he could see was her face. Her large, violet eyes fell closed, black eyelashes resting against pale stare lite cheeks.

The only thing he could hear now was the sound of his blood pumping, the steady rhythm of his heart increasing as the seconds dragged on like minutes. Everything had slipped through his fingers, but she was right here.

He turned away, standing suddenly, and walking a few quick steps off before stopping. He didn't look back at her, couldn't stand the thought of what he might see on her face at this moment. "I'm sorry." His voice was raspy and weak sounding in his own ears, and he almost thought he heard laughter in the furthest reaches of his mind, at the very edge of his perception.

He walked away, not looking back.

She would always be too far away.

-------

Ichigo closed the door to his room with a soft click of the latch, turning to rest his back against it before sliding to the floor. Covering his face with his hands, he steadied his uneven breathing. Getting a grip on his reality once more.

"It's not easy, is it, Aibou?"

He looked up, the white and black form of his hollow sitting with crossed legs on his bed. "How are you here?" He'd heard the voice in his mind plenty, and their first real interaction had been in his inner world, but he'd never seen his hollow outside like this, didn't know it was possible.

"Ha, what a stupid question." The hollow mocked him, leaning back with his hands as support to stare at the ceiling. "I'm here because I want to be here, that's all there is to it." The golden irises came to look at him again, an odd angle considering his head was still tilted backwards. "It's the same when you were fighting in Soul Society and Zangetsu came out to help you. The first time we fought."

Ichigo remembered, fighting with Zaraki had been the first time he had seen the hollow, the first time he'd defeated him without realizing the significance of their battle. After that he'd trained with the old man in with Yoruichi's help, and now that he thought about it, he remebered Renji's zanpakuto had been there while the red headed Shinigami had worked for his own bankai too. He didn't know how, but he understood, to an extent.

"Then what do you want?" Ichigo really wasn't in the mood to deal with the hollow now, he'd been quiet since they'd left Hueco Mundo, perhaps understanding the importance of their retreat for the time being. He'd expected ranting and raving about how they could win, how they could kill all the Espada, but it had been thankfully silent up until now.

"I was bored." The hollow responded, laughing as he sat back up, resting elbows on his legs. "So, I came out here for a visit."

"And it's any better out here?" His temper was getting the better of him already, but the white clone had a way of setting him off like that.

"Of course it is, Aibou." More of that bone chilling laugh. "It's not raining out here." Those unblinking golden eyes reminded Ichigo of a cat's eyes, they way they watched and seemed to stare right through him. "You need to do something about that, I could catch a cold, and then where would you be?"

He let the mocking slide over him, ignoring it, there was nothing he could do about the rain, he couldn't just tell it to stop and the clouds to go away. It was something he had to fight for, that they were both fighting for now. "Do what you want then, just don't draw any attention here." Little by little he was beginning to understand how things worked, and that anyone who could see a or hear a Shinigami would be able to see and hear the hollow occupying his room right now.

"Oh, I'm not going to cause any trouble, I'll be good and sit right here." Black lips widened into a broad grin. "I've got to keep an eye on you, in case you slip up."

"I'm not going to break our deal." He replied flatly, eyes dropping to stare at his hands, he couldn't really be angry about this, even if he wanted to be, he'd agreed to it. "I won't make any mistakes."

That laughter was beginning to remind him of a mad man, only that mad man was the other half of his soul. "I don't know about that, you came pretty close earlier. I thought that was going to be the end of it."

"I said I'm not going to break our deal!" He shouted at the hollow, standing abruptly, and forgetting about not drawing attention. He'd probably woken up his entire family with that little out burst.

"I'll keep that in mind, Aibou, but I'll be watching."

There was a knock at the door. "Ichi nii, is everything alright?" Yuzu's voice was heavy with sleep, and he mentally berated himself for losing it like that.

"Yeah, just a bad dream, school's getting to me I guess." The lie came easily, and he was glad that there were people who didn't have to be dragged into this mess. "Go back to sleep, everything is fine."

"Okay." He listened for the sound of the door down the hall clicking shut again before turning back around.

Ichigo only found his empty room, with a heavy sigh he took the couple of steps across the small space and collapsed on his bed, face burried in his pillow. Tonight he needed to sleep, because tomorrow he was going to start training again.

---------

Renji blinked his eyes open slowly, taking several moments for them to adjust to the dim lighting of the room he was in. He was on a futon, surrounded by dull wooden walls, probably back in the living world. The last thing he'd seen were the too bright lights of the Octava Espada's domain, and the white stone of Los Noches as he slowly bled out.

He'd already been injured, when the Octava had disappeared, their plan to take down the crazy Arrancar, sure he'd been hurt in the process, but it should have taken Szayel Aporro down. Should have, but didn't. Then the crazy bastard had i eaten /i one of his minions, healing what damage Ishida and him had managed to do.

As if adding insult to injury, quite literally, the Espada had gone to change clothes, so he could be presentable for the rest of their battle. When he'd come back things had gone horribly wrong. He didn't even draw his sword, and that smug self confidence radiated off him in waves. Then there was the pain. Renji didn't know what it was then, and didn't know what it was now, but it had felt like he was being ripped apart from the inside. It was worse than going up against Senbonzakura's bankai if he had to compare it to something. Then everything had gone black.

He'd thought that maybe that was the end for him, but now he was here. Experimentally, he shifted around, moving everything a little at a time, testing. Everything was still there, and he didn't seem too bad off. No real pain, just the protesting of over worked muscles putting themselves back together, and the heaviness of limbs that came from sleeping just a little too long.

"Renji?" His eyes snapped to the far wall, the source of the voice. It was Rukia, leggs pulled up to her chest and arms wrapped around them. Her hair was messy, like she had slept there like that. It was unlike her. "Renji, you are awake! Everyone was starting to worry when Ishida woke up yesterday, but you didn't." She scrambled across the floor, sitting next to him and taking his hand in her smaller two. "How are you feeling?"

He blinked at her, a little confused, but decided to take things one at a time, until he figured out just what was going on. With his free hand he pushed himself up to a sitting position, body screaming in protest to the movement. "I'm fine he told her, something like that couldn't keep me down." Now that the blanket had slid down to his waist he noticed he was suspiciously free of bandages. "Rukia, how long have I been out?" Even with help healing, that much damage should be apparent after two or three days.

She smiled at him a little sadly, but didn't hesitate. "It's been more than a week now. We were starting to get worried."

"Shit." He ran his hand through tangled red locks, grimacing as his hands caught on them. "How are the other's?" Ishida he knew, was probably fine, given Rukia's earlier statement, but there was still Sado, who's reiatsu had dropped off like Rukia's, and who knew what kind of trouble Ichigo had gotten himself into?

"Everyone's fine, Sado kun is fully recovered and has been training every day, Ishida woke up yesterday but he's still pretty weak. I've been talking with Soul Society, we should have a few day's before we return. Oh, and Ichigo..." She trailed off, something was definitely bothering her. "Ichigo's fine, he's the one who pulled us all out of there, but I'm not sure on the details."

"Figures that bastard would be the only one of us to walk away from a fight." Renji grumbled, a bit embarrassed by having to be carried back and patched up like that. He hadn't missed the fact that Inoue hadn't been mentioned in her recount of every one's various states of health, so he could guess how well that had gone. Somehow, though, that didn't seem to be all of it. "What about you, how are you doing?"

"I'm fine." She wasn't looking at him, she'd always been a terrible lier, a worse lier than she was an artist, and that was saying something.

He pulled his hand away from hers and placed it heavily on her head, tilting it back so she had to look up at him as he leaned over her. "Don't bull shit me Rukia."

She waved her hands, back and forth frantically. "Really, I'm fine. I'm just worried for everyone." She shoved him away suddenly. "You stink, go take a shower." She emphasized this by pinching her nose closed and making a face at him, laughing as she did so. "I'm not coming anywhere near you again until you do." She stood, and backed away a few steps before turning, giving him a real smile. "We can talk more when you're done."

She slid open the shogi door, stepping out into the brighter hallway. "Rukia?" She stopped, shogi half closed, and looked at him. "Second time's the charm?"

She laughed, "Yeah, I guess it is." The shogi slid the rest of the way shut with a soft click, leaving Renji alone in the small room.

He sat there for a few minutes, trying to shake how strangely Rukia had been acting from his mind. He couldn't blame her, a lot had happened, and a lot more was going to, all with their failure in Hueco Mundo hanging over their heads. Everyone would probably be a little off, at least for a while.

Finally he decided to get up, when he had run his hand through his hair earlier it had felt really nasty, he didn't need Rukia to tell him that much. Each and ever muscle in his body screamed at him as he moved, using the wall as a brace. It hurt everywhere. It was so bad his legs almost gave out on him and dropped him on the flood, but he decided the impact would only be less pleasant.

First a good washing then... His stomach let out a loud growl... then food. They were going to be in a hell of a lot of trouble when they got back to Soul Society, and he wanted to take care of a few things here first.

----------

_"They're useless to us._" The hollow complained, knowing their destination without him having to say a word. Ichigo could tell that he wasn't happy about this for other reasons though, that the hollow didn't like who they were going to see, but he really couldn't blame him, considering. "_We don't need them, we don't need anybody."_

"Shut up." He grumbled, speaking out loud without really thinking about it, he still wasn't used to actually talking to the hollow, but since they had had their agreement he seemed a lot more insistent on making his opinion on everything known. Everything up to and including breakfast that morning. "It's not useless, they're strong, and we can use that." They needed someone they could go all out against fighting without worrying too much about killing them. Anyone else and he'd have to hold back.

"_Boring. Why don't you just fight me?_" The strangely distorted voice offered, Ichigo could hear the smile in it. It didn't seem like too good of an idea, they might have an agreement for now, but that didn't mean he could trust the hollow to keep his end of it if given the opportunity to take the throne. The incident in Los Noches aside. Just because the hollow had taken control, and willingly gave it up, didn't mean it was going to happen again. There was no chance it would happen again, if he had to guess.

Ichigo shoved his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched in annoyance. "We'd still need somewhere to fight, and since we don't have a huge alternate dimension sitting under the clinic we've got to go somewhere else." Everyone but him seemed to have one. There was one in Soul Society, one Under Urahara's shop, and the Vizards had one. And, come to think of it, Urahara had made the first two, but who had made the third? "So, shut up."

"_Che, fine_." With that, the hollow let it drop, and Ichigo walked on in relative silence. No voices in his head to drive him insane. No heartless half of his sould to poke him and prod him about being bored, the things he liked, the clothes he wore, or the food he ate. Silence for the first time all day.

He hadn't spoken to anyone else since his talk with Rukia the night before, but he was reassured by what she said. Everyone was fine, they'd all made it out a live, which was more than he could have hoped for when he'd drug them all out of there. Now there was nothing else he could do, except get stronger. Stronger and stronger so something like that didn't happen again. First it had been to protect his family, then his friends, now it was everyone. They wanted to fight along side him, but they couldn't, not against an enemy like the one they faced now. They'd tried, and everyone nearly died, even him.

Ichigo had a fight to finish with Grimmjow, a favor to return to Ulquiorra, and a grudge to settle with Aizen. Before that, he had to be sure that he wasn't going to mess it up again. He wasn't going to rush head on into a situation without a plan or thought for the consequences. Just because it had worked out when Rukia was the goal did mean it'd work again. In fact, it had failed miserably, and Inoue was still held in a far away white tower, taken away and locked up. It was stupid, but a lesson he'd have to learn sooner or later, so it was better now than when there'd be no going back.

None of this was so romantic as the stories. No knights in shining armor, no marching into battle against unbeatable odds and coming out waving the banner of victory with nothing more than a pretty new battle scar and a few heroic stories to tell. This was a harsh reality where you had to watch those you cared about suffer, and make sacrifices to get that one little foot hold that might just be what you needed to get ahead. Struggling to take those baby steps to the end, and hoping, despite all that tide you down, held you in place, that you made it before the other. That you made it with the least lost.

He'd thought he'd taken them all, taken every step he needed, but there was always one more, one more that he didn't see. He'd keep going though, give up everything for his goal, because that was all he could do. He had been born to fight, the instinct strong in him and flowing through his veins like blood. The hollow had made him realize this, but that didn't mean he had to fight without purpose. He was stronger with his purpose, and would become stronger.

Grimmjow hadn't realized this, but next time they fought, the next time they faced each other, he would pound the truth of it into him. They would pound the truth of it into him, he and his hollow, fighting as they were made to do. Grimmjow wanted to know who was stronger, wanted them to prove their strength, he could do that. He would prove it to the the Sexta Espada and everyone up through the ranks to Aizen himself. He would destroy them completely.

"_Aibou, we're here_."

Rukia, and everyone else, would understand what he had to do. One way or another, they would have to understand.

"Ichigo, what the hell are you doing back here?" He was flashed too wide grin showing perfect white teeth. "I thought you were done with us."

"I still need to use you, Hirako."


	3. Strength isn't the Problem Here

Sorry for the wait, there really isn't any excuse. Anyway, thanks for reading!

"Ou? Not done using us yet? I thought you'd had all the help you needed when you ran off like that." This visit was much like his first to the warehouse. He stood inside on the bottom most floor while those he had come to use stood on the remains of the floors above him, only this time it was only Hirako Shinji and none of the others. They were probably all in the underground room, where much of their time was spent during the day.

"Turns out there is still something I can get out of you." Ichigo shot back, the beginnings of a smirk forming on his lips. He had said before that they were not friends, and that he had no interest in them beyond using them, but he had to admit they weren't the creepy bastards he'd first pegged them for. "Don't tell me your doors are closed all of a sudden?"

"Oh, of course not, but that doesn't mean we don't charge rent. You gotta earn your keep like a good boy." The Vizard uncrossed his arms from over his chest, and jumped down the several floors separating them, landing a few feet in front of Ichigo with more grace than most would expect from the scrawny blond. He spread his arms wide. "Welcome back, Ichigo."

"Enough with the formalities. Let's get started." He didn't mind so much talking with Hirako, but he really didn't have time to be waisting, and his impatience when it came to his training should be well known by now. He'd jumped right into battling it out with his hollow, and had wasted no time in getting to training to hold his hollow from. Even during that he'd dropped everything to go fight when the Arrancar had shown back up, testing his control of his powers in a real battle for the first time.

"Calm down. Hiyori's gonna have something to say about this. She started up the second your reiatsu got close." Hirako warned, leading the way down anyway. The warning wasn't necessary though, Ichigo expected it, expected it enough to duck out of the way of a flying round house kick, aimed for his head, deadly force behind that small sandal-ed foot.

"What the hell are you doing back here badly?" She landed easily, un-fazed by her missed attack, and turned to Hirako, continuing without waiting for a response. "And why'd you bring that ungrateful bastard back down here?" She had a sandal in her hand and was beating Hirako upside the head before she'd finished speaking.

"Hey, I couldn't just turn him out." Hirako's arms were raised in defence against the onslaught of the merciless sandal. "Just look at him, who could say no to that face?"

As if considering him seriously, Hiyori stopped and glared at Ichigo, he chose to glare back. "I could!" She proceeded to hit the blond Vizard with her sandal.

"_See, Aibou, this was a dumb idea. They can't even take us seriously._" The hollow was laughing though, obviously amused by what he found a display of stupidity, or perhaps feeling superior just from that display. _"We should have gone somewhere else to play."_

"Maybe we should have." Ichigo agreed, but didn't plan on turning around. Here was his best option.

"What did you say?" Hiyori stopped her brutal assault on Hirako's head, and turned to glare at him once more; the other Vizard just raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe we should have been more cautious coming down here." Ichigo covered, aiming his words at Hirako. "We both knew she wasn't happy about my being here." The hollow was laughing maniacally inside his head.

"_Talking to yourself, Aibou? Maybe you're finally going craz_y." The laughing continued, and Ichigo felt the urge to show that he was still King and still deserved respect.

"Yes, she's not happy." Hirako agreed, seeming to fall for Ichigo's quick cover. "Though, I'm not sure why she's taking it out on me, I didn't ask you to come back."

"Shut up." The diminutive Vizard snapped, giving the taller one last good whack before replacing her sandal on her foot. "Why the hell would I be happy about you being here, Ichigo? Especially after you up and left like that, were you planning on getting your dumb ass killed?"

He glared back at her, returning her look with equal ferocity. "I would have thought you'd throw a party if that happened. Sorry to disappoint you."

"Damn right I'm disappointed." She yelled at him. "Now I've got to put up with your sorry ass again. You know what a pain it is to train a weakling like you?"

"Probably not as much of a pain as it is to listen to your bitching." Ichigo muttered, earning a sandal to the face.

------

"Damn it Ichigo!" Hiyori yelled, sliding her mask up off her face. "If you're going to act like this, why did you come here?"

Ichigo picked himself up, wiping the blood from his eye as he did so, the cut just above it flowing freely. "I already explained it to you." His breathing was labored, and his clothes tattered. "I have to get stronger like this first. I have to be able to fight like this."

"You should be training your hollow powers, not worrying about your Shinigami powers. They aren't going to go away, you're not going to get weaker." She rested her zanpakuto on her shoulder, giving him a look that was sure to send the message of how stupid she thought he was being.

He held the black form of his blade before him, in a fighting stance, ready for the next strike. "If I get stronger like this, my hollow transformation will be stronger." The hollow had told him that, the stronger he was without him, the more his powers would increase when he put on the mask. Right now, without their deal, he could barely hold his throne, and had an even weaker grasp on forcing the mask. If Ichigo wanted to be able to cut down all the enemies in his path, he had to work to get there. "This comes first."

"Fine." Hiyori pulled her mask back down, covering the distance between them almost too fast for Ichigo to see. He brought up his zanpakuto, turning hers aside as it tried to cleave him in two from his left shoulder down.

Almost as soon as the attack was dodged, forced down and to the side, she changed the direction and momentum of the blade, reversing it and pulling it sharply to her right. Ichigo jumped back, unable to deflect it in time, but managing to avoid the worst of the blow. His shihakusho were sliced open, and a thin red line appeared on his abdomen, the next attack coming before it had time to bleed.

"I'm going to kill you at this rate Ichigo." Hiyori's distorted voice taunted, she pulled her blow before dropping down to kick his legs out from under him, the Shinigami jumped over her leg only to be sent flying by a punch to his side. He landed with a loud crack, splitting a boulder in two. "You're too slow. You can't keep up with me and I'm not even trying yet."

"Shut up." Shakily he picked himself up again, bleeding from various scratches sharp pieces of rock had carved into him, leaving darker spots on his black coat. "I won't let you kill me."

"Suit yourself." She ran at him again, and he rushed forward to meet her, black and silver blades crashing like the sound of thunder in the distance. Red droplets of blood fell to the barren earth, and the brown desert sand drank them up thirstily, the red stains becoming disappearing as soon as they appeared.

Ichigo cried out, pain searing his body, as the tip of Hiyori's blade pierced into his bicep, just a few millimeters shy of the bone as it cut through to the other side. The blond Vizard smirked under her mask, jumping back and pulling the zanpakuto with her as Ichigo slashed at her with his good arm.

"Is that all you've got?" She yelled at him, not impressed with his show. "You're pathetic!"

"I'm still standing." His words were broken by his heavy breaths, each one deep as if filling his lungs for the first time after holding one for as long as he could.

"You can't even hit me." Hiyori pointed out, blood tipped sword pointing at Ichigo accusingly. "Not a scratch."

Ichigo smirked, brown eyes focusing on Hiyori's arm, the same side she had just run him through on on herself. Her red track suit had a cut in it, a perfect horizontal line matching the one on her skin, bleeding what amounted to a few drops. She laughed.

"Don't get cocky, I'd get worse if I fell and scraped my knee." Her blade fell back, and low, tip pointing to the ground behind her. There was still a good amount of space between them, to much for her to swing and hit him from if she didn't run at him.

Ichigo crouched down, sword held ready, and eyes focused on her. Her shoulders, hips, feet, hands. He watched them all at once, the way they moved would give away the way the rest of her would move, and her next attack. Even as he focused, though, she blurred and disappeared. He turned, looking for her, only to find her coming down from above him, zanpakuto held high and coming down in a powerful, steady arc. He twisted sharply to the side, bringing his black blade up as he did, the two swords meeting and his being pushed back, down, the blunt side barely an inch from his face leaving him to stare at the sharpened edge of hers. If he blinked it would cut his eye lashes.

She jumped back suddenly, putting several yards between them, and her mask disappeared. "We're done with this. It's dinner time." She walked towards the other Vizards without so much as a word more.

"_That was pathetic, Aibou._" His hollow was taunting him, taking delight in his easy defeat by a little girl. "_She didn't even break a sweat, and look at you, bloody and you almost got killed. Isn't your bankai supposed to make you faster, because you were moving pretty damn slow._"I

"Thanks for the helpful advice." Even in his head his voice was dripping with sarcasm, if that was possible. He was being a little more careful about how he addressed his hollow, not wanting another slip up like before. "Just remember, this was your idea."

Distorted laughter responded. "_I remember. Best idea I've ever had, you have no idea how funny it is to watch you get beat up by the little brat. Can't even beat the midget without my help, and, like she said, she isn't even trying_."

Ichigo ignored his hollow's remark, pushing the taunting aside. That really hadn't changed, and he wasn't expecting it to. Since his fight with Byakuya, the first time the hollow tried to take control, he'd heard the taunting, now it was just a matter of putting up with it all the time. Commentary on everything was quickly becoming a part of his life, an annoying one.

He settled back into his body, wincing as wounds opened up on the flesh that had been marring only his spirit moments before. With a little help they were closed and bandaged, but not completely healed, partly to help him grow stronger and mostly because none of the Vizards were really any good with healing.

The food was almost done, and the thought of eating caused Ichigo's stomach to rumble loudly. He'd last eaten that morning before training, and the workout had him starving. However, it was Liza's turn to cook.

When he had trained with the Vizards the last time, it quickly became apparent that they took turns with most everything, except for clean up duty, last done had to clean up. It hadn't taken him more than a week to figure out who could cook and who couldn't, and for them to ban him from ever preparing a meal ever again. Yuzu always did the cooking at home, and he was happy eating what she made, and wasn't going to bother to learn to cook for himself.

While Liza's food didn't cause food poisoning, it was far from good. If he could get past the taste, smell, and texture it wasn't so bad going down. It was just one of those hold your nose and swallow things. He could get away with that too, since she was too busy reading her porn even while eating. If he tried that with Hiyori cooking, well, he wasn't going to try that.

A hand slapped him on the back, causing pain to shoot through his injured arm. Ichigo looked up to see Hirako smiling down at him, too wide grin exposing every tooth the man owned. "Not bad, you actually hit her." A pause. "Kind of."

"Shut it." Ichigo replied, but not as harshly as if he'd really meant it. "I'd like to see you get your ass kicked." Hirako would probably do better than him at this point, but if things worked the way they were supposed to, he'd be able to do damn good holding his own against them just as a human, and more than that fighting with his hollow. Or, he'd better, if he was ever going to get Orihime out of Hueco Mundo and make up for his failure.

"I'm not going to fight her one on one like that, not when I can use my hollow powers." Hirako handed Ichigo a bowl, filled with what the orange haired teen could only assume was some sort of stew. "Anyway, eat up." The Vizard shot the food a look that was none too pleasant. "Tomorrow's your turn to cook dinner."

Ichigo just nodded, taking the bowl and setting it in his lap, better to leave his injured arm alone while it healed rather than tear the wound any more. That was just what he needed, to tear the muscle on top of having is sliced clean through.

"_What are you worried about, you won't have a scratch come morning._" The hollow had a tone to his voice that made it sound as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. _"If I have you running around looking like you lost a fight, which you did, I'll look bad_."

He rolled his eyes, stuffing the spoon into his mouth, then regretting it as he swallowed the mushy vegetables his face twisted in disgust. "This is all about making you look good, I should have known." He wondered how he got stuck with such an arrogant bastard for a hollow, well hollows were arrogant bastards, but a damned talkative one at least. He's seen enough Arrancar and hollows to know that not all of them liked to run off at the mouth.

"Baldy, you talking to yourself?" He glanced back over his shoulder, giving Hiyori a smile that was more a showing of teeth than anything else.

"Just noting how much better a cook Liza is than you." He barely ducked in time to avoid the rock aimed for his head.

Like the hollow had told him, his wounds were healed by the next morning, but that didn't get him to training like he had intended. Of course everyone had their own things to do, but it pissed him off that he was waisting time. The only thing for him to do was go out and buy what he needed for the only thing he knew how to cook.

Ichigo had Yuuzu to thank for the fact that there was at least one meal he could make without catching the entire block on fire and killing everyone who ate it. It wasn't great, but it was edible and at least he could call it good. Otherwise he'd just pick up some instant ramen and they could eat it or starve for all he cared. With the free time he had today, he didn't see the point in that, so it would wait until his turn came up again.  
_  
"We could be training right now. You could go up against me, just let me out._"

"Shut up already." This had to have been the sixth time in ten minutes they'd gone over this. "I am not going to just let you out." He definitely wasn't going to fight the hollow, not just yet. They had a deal, one that he'd been keeping just fine on his own, even with the vague conditions, conditions they needed to sit down and work out the details now that they had a bit of a routine to work with. "They don't like you much anyway, not after that first little incident."

"_Che. That little bitch was literally asking for it. It's not my fault if I'm more than she can handle. Besides, I don't have a reason to finish what she started, since we're still using her._" There was a hint of disappointment to that twisted voice, one that gave Ichigo the slightest sliver of hope that the hollow would stick by his word and keep their agreement, one that he stomped down on as soon as it formed. He couldn't trust him, he could turn and try and take the throne for himself at any moment. It might be that he was just waiting for the right time. "_You should give me a chance, Aibou._"

"If you shut up, I might think about it."

"Hey, Ichigo."

The orange haired teen stopped, cursing to himself as he turned around, only to find Renji jogging down the sidewalk. "You're still here?"

"Is that anyway to talk to someone who was dying last time you saw them?" The red headed Shinigami threw back, coming even with Ichigo. "Hell, if I'd known you were going to be such an asshole, I wouldn't have bothered." The gigai was hideously dressed, Rukia's handiwork evident in the bright colors and Chappy the Rabbit theme. Ichigo felt bad for the guy, not being able to escape that particular fate, it wouldn't be so bad if she had any sense of fashion and lacked the tendency to use other's as her dress up dolls.

"You look fine to me." Ichigo shook his head and turned back around, walking away from the conversation before it even began. Of course, Renji followed him.

"We're leaving for Soul Society tomorrow." All joking aside, suddenly the Shinigami was all business, voice low so it wouldn't carry to anyone they'd happen to pass. "I don't know what Kuchiki Taichou did, but he managed to get us out of most of the trouble we were in by coming to help you out." The fact that everyone had to be dragged out barely clinging to life was left unmentioned. "We're still gonna get it though." For all that it was a foreboding thought, considering how Rukia's punishment was handled when it was supposed to be a slap on the wrist, Renji didn't seem concerned. "I don't know what kind of shit you've got going on right now, but don't forget, we're still here."

"It's kind of hard to forget someone as annoying as you." Ichigo threw out sarcastically, trying to change the subject from where he had a feeling it was going.

"Don't fuck with me, bastard." Renji growled back, keeping his pace even with Ichigo's unhurried one. "I know you're hiding something from us. No one just disappears and reappears suddenly, at least no one who sucks as much as you do at masking your reiatsu." The red head had other issues to bring up, like about what the hell Ichigo had said or done to Rukia, but he had to deal with this one thing at a time, and keep things on track. He had a tendency to get pissed at Ichigo and lose his original train of thought. "If it's like last time, you're getting stronger, and we need that. But, I don't think that's the problem right now."

Ichigo stopped, staring at the other man, a look that said 'hurry up and get to your point'. "If it's not the problem, then what is? We almost got killed, almost lost everybody that time. We were fucking lucky to get out of there, and we didn't even leave with what we'd come for. So, tell me, asshole, what is the problem?"

Renji was up in Ichigo's face, voice a low hiss as opposed to the yelling he'd have done if they weren't in the middle of the street. "That's right, we almost died. You didn't walk out of there with so much as a scratch on you. You went up against how many Espada? At least two, right; that Ulquiorra bastard and the blue haired one who keeps pickin' fights with you. The rest of us didn't even stand a chance." His eyes narrowed to a glare, matching the one Ichigo wore. "I'm not stupid, Ichigo, I've felt you're reiatsu change when we're fightin' 'em. It practically feels like you're one of them, instead of one of us."

Ichigo's fist connected with Renji's jaw with a loud crack, sending the other stumbling back several steps. "The hell does it matter, we're all alive, and I'm still on this side." He felt the strong urge to kill Renji right about then, the insane laughter echoing through his skull encouraging the impulse. "I'm no different than I've ever been, and that's not changing."

"What the hell ever." Renji spat, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth with the back of one arm, staining the bright fabric. "I'm not saying that whatever you're doing is wrong, but hell, you could at least be careful." He shook his head. "Or even tell someone what's goin' on. We're your friends, and all we want to do is help out." He stuffed his hands in his pockets, obviously trying to keep a rein on his temper. "Or, aren't we, anymore?"

"What did you just say?" Ichigo was doing a less than great job of keeping himself under control. As much as he was friends with the Shinigami, something about Renji just pissed him off. The bastard could say something as simple as hello and he'd probably be about ready to punch him, and this was a hell of a lot more than hello.

"Forget it. Just forget I said anything about it." Neither of them would be forgetting it though, that much was clear by the looks of absolute death they were sending each other. "You just got everyone worried. Especially Rukia."

That hit a nerve, the conversation they'd had, the whole situation replaying through Ichigo's mind with painful clarity. "I know, but it's the way things are." His voice had lost a bit of it's edge, more wild cackling ringing through his skull. At least someone found amusement in this whole situation, but maybe that had been part of the point all along. The hollow might have just wanted to fuck with him from the start.

"Bullshit, you're just stubborn, thinkin' that all of this is about you, like you're the only one fighting here, the only one with anything to lose." Renji's feet were planted to the concrete, but it was easy to see he wanted to hit Ichigo right back, knock some sense into him in the only way he knew how, and probably the only way that would work with someone like him. "This ain't about you, so get your head out of your ass; before you get us all killed."

Silence hung between them, neither of them saying anything, and waiting for the other to speak.

"_Does it bother you, Aibou? That he's right?_" The commentary was only making things worse, he was just lucky no one else could hear it. "_Or maybe it bothers you that he's wrong, that this is your fight and he can't see it. None of them will ever be able to keep up, if they fight, they die. You can't save everyone all the time._"

"Just talk to her." Renji turned away suddenly, walking back the way he'd come. Ichigo did the same, turning back to his little mission.

Fuck cooking tonight; they were all going to have to live with ramen.


	4. Surpises

**Author's note:** Thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. I love to know what everyone thinks. However, on that same note, I do not want people asking "when are they going to have sex?!!!!" It will happen in good time, so just keep your pants on until it gets steamy.

I know people want to see action, well a shit ton is going to be coming in a few chapters, so just sit with the plots for now, not everything can be beating stuff up, but I hope you enjoy it anyway.

Well, as always. I love all my readers, the ones who review I'm biased towards though.

"You didn't have to come in here to talk about this." The hollow folded his arms over his chest, a scowl painted across his face. "I could have come out there just as easily."

"What the hell am I going to tell the Vizards when they feel my hollow all of a sudden? Better yet, how the hell do I explain why you'd be sitting next to me not trying to kill me?" Ichigo snapped back, mimicking the hollows pose as they sat facing one another on the sideways building of Ichigo's inner world. "In here is where it has to be."

"Everyone's going to find out sooner or later; you're no good at keeping a secret, Aibou." The last word was said with mockery, letting the hollow's frustration seep through. "'Sides, how are you going to explain why you've been talking to yourself, and staring off into space all the time? Face it, you're as good as shouting it to the world right about now."

"Would you just shut up and talk about what I came here to talk about?" The beginnings of a headache had somehow sneaked up on the orange-haired teen.

"Shut up or talk to you, can't you make up your mind?" The none-too-happy doppelganger laughed. "I think you need a nap, to rest that poor tired brain of yours." He leaned forward, black and gold eyes flashing excitedly. "Stay here and rest, let me run around for a while. I won't do anything that'll get us in trouble."

"You're not just getting out." Ichigo knew he'd never get the hollow back in if he allowed that. Though, the bastard was persistent, he'd give him that much. "Let's just get this over with so I can get back to training."

"All that I'm doing for you, playing nice and everything, and you have to be a stingy bastard about it." The hollow sat back up, looking away from Ichigo almost like a pouting child. "I haven't even tried to kill you once. Or any of your friends. I even only came out that once when no one was looking."

"We'll talk about it." Ichigo practically yelled, but just managed to keep himself from doing so. Who knew what a fight at this point would do.

"Damn right we'll talk about it."

"First," He butted in, before the hollow had a chance to continue his complaining about being trapped in the inner world. "The conditions of our agreement." He gave a pointed glare, one that said they weren't changing the subject until they'd gotten this worked out. "You said no intimate contact..." Several thoughts as to what that could and couldn't include flashed through his mind, staining his cheeks pink before he could suppress them. "I get the basics of it, but how far does it go? Like with Grimmjow, I didn't do that, I didn't want it, and you gave me control back."

"'Course I did. Who the hell'd want anything to do with him?" Black lips twisted at the thought. "Che, but you're going to be stupid about this, so I'll explain. It's all in what you want." Something in the look the hollow gave Ichigo sent shivers down his spine. "If someone kisses you and you like it, you broke the contract, but if you don't like it, then it doesn't count. And, you can't fool me and tell me you didn't want it, cause I know you better than anyone."

"So, even if I'm doing everything I can, if someone I want to be "intimate" with forces themselves on me, it's my fault?" Ichigo didn't like the sound of this, because as much as he could hold himself back, he couldn't hold other's back. Like the other night when he was talking with Rukia.

"That's right, so you better be damned careful, Aibou. You belong to me now." There was a sadistic grin attached to that. "If you even think you see them coming, I suggest you back away, because I won't forgive you." The grin darkened. "And I sure as hell won't forgive them."

Running a hand through short orange hair, he sighed, staring at his black shihakusho against the greys of the concrete. "What about my family, my sisters?" He needed this contract, he needed the hollow's cooperation to win this war, and right now the only way that worked was by sticking with this stupid deal. He'd already agreed to it, but he needed to understand it. There was still no trust, but maybe he could manipulate the hollow as badly as it was manipulating him. Not that he couldn't understand it, the white copy was stuck in here, his only interaction of any sort was with Ichigo, so he was doing his best to drag him down to that same level.

"Why should I let you? Don't touch 'em, no hugs, no pats on the shoulders, no affectionately ruffling hair. While we're at it, doesn't matter what you do with another person, holding hands, brushing past them when you pass each other, any of that counts. You don't get to have a physical relationship with anyone if you want to use me." The ghostly face tilted to one side, dark eyes examining his counterpart, a rare bout of seriousness having come upon him. "Those terms clear enough for you?"

It pissed Ichigo off, how just one little misstep could screw everything over. He might as well never even bother going home. "Yeah, I get it." It didn't even have to be his own fault. "If they're not trying to kill me it's a no-no."

"Don't make that face, Aibou. You always have me."

------

"--stop staring off into space. Berry tan, hello, are you home?" Ichigo blinked, five or six times, and got his vision to focus on the green haired figure looming over him. "There you go! You really should blink more than every hour or two. It can't be good for your eyes."

"Whatever." He pushed himself up, muscles sore from sitting in the same position with out so much as twitching. His muscles were sore, but the cuts and bruises from his fight just a little while ago had already faded to memories. It was less and less the hollow's reiatsu and more his with every day, since that first humiliating fight with Hiyori he'd been getting stronger, but like that bastard had said he would. He still couldn't land a hit on any of them, but progress was progress no matter how small.

Or maybe his reiatsu was learning from example. The hollow had healed him more than enough times that his own could be addapting to do the same thing.

"Berry tan has been so cold. Aren't we friends any more?" Mashiro pouted childishly, everything about her was childish, but she could still kick his ass like any of the others. It unnerved him to see that happy, smiling face as she sliced him to shreds. He was pretty sure she was crazy.

"Yeah, sure." Ichigo was more annoyed by the question than he should have been, but that talk he'd just got through with having had him in anything but a good mood. He'd have to adjust further, go out of his way to avoid people, and basically become the most paranoid person ever if he didn't want to mess this up. It really got to him though, since he knew the bastard had made it up right then and there, that he just really couldn't touch anyone at all. Seeing as Hirako had slapped him encouragingly on the back just the day before and the hollow hadn't said a word about it, it was a 'make shit up as we go' sort of deal.

"Yay, then you wouldn't mind helping me with this then." She reached out to grab his hand and drag him along, but he stepped back just in time, earning another pout. Mashiro creeped him out sometimes.

"I'll help, just tell me what it is"

_"That was subtle."_ The running commentary finally caught up with him, Ichigo could almost say he was surprised that it had taken this long for him to say something. _"They're all going to think you're crazy, or maybe developed a sudden phobia of people. Well, maybe just the second part, they already think you're crazy."_

"Mind your own business." If he hadn't of been clenching his teeth, he probably would have said that out loud, and very nearly said the next thing out loud before he caught what Mashiro was saying.

"Then once you've collected all the garbage, I'll tell you where it needs to be taken. Don't worry about having to carry it far, we have somewhere to dispose of it down here." She was practically bouncing in place as she dumped all of her chores on the unsuspecting teen. Honestly, he should have known that when she'd said 'help' she'd meant 'do it for me'. It wasn't the first time she'd pulled this on him, she did it to the other Vizards as well, it worked on everyone but Liza.

"Hey, where are you going?" Ichigo called, but she was already skipping off, waving back at him with the most sickeningly happy smile he'd seen in a while. For some reason he was sure Mashiro would get along great with Yachiru.

_"You're a pushover." _Ichigo blinked as he heard the same thing said inside of his head and outside of it at the same time. It took him a moment to realize that Hirako had spoken at the same time as his hollow, but without the same level of mocking amusement in his tone.

"Che, you'd have been roped in the same way, but she already got you yesterday." He turned to face the blond, giving him the glare he should have been focusing inwards. "I'll bet she's never done her own chores, ever."

"Not as long as I've known her." Eyes narrowed to slits as a too wide grin spread over the Vizard's face. "Anyway, I'll help you."

Now that was suspicious. "Why?"

"You want to do this all by yourself?" The question was logical enough, but Ichigo sure as hell didn't buy it.

"What are you getting out of it?"

The blond sighed, becoming serious, which was something more creepy than Mashiro's personality, but in a different way. "I want to talk to you about something."

"What the hell?! Everyone has got something to talk to me about all of a sudden. Well, I'm not interested. Go tell it to someone else." He stormed off, without waiting to see what it had even been about. Because, whatever it was, would probably just piss him off like everything else was seeming to.

_"You're pushing them away."_

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

_"You should know the answer to that, Aibou. We just got done talking about it didn't we?" _The voice was mockingly comforting, pretending to be innocent and failing as miserably as only a being built out of the most base desires of the human soul could.

"Can't you just leave me alone for a while?"

"Fine."

Ichigo turned to find that Hirako had followed him, then even more belatedly noticed that he'd been talking out loud again. It seemed that the blond had only heard the last bit and had thought it was directed at him and not some internal conversation that had found it's way out. They probably did think he was crazy. "I don't want to deal with this now." He was half covering for his slip, and half explaining things. He had enough on his plate without anyone adding drama of any sort.

"I understand." The Vizard gave him that toothy grin of his, and Ichigo walked away, able to feel those sharp eyes on him until he was able to turn a corner and get out of sight.

------

Mashiro returned, walking up beside the blond. "You noticed it too?" She was staring after Ichigo like Hirako.

"It's kind of hard to miss." Hirako's smile, that he'd plastered on his face when the orange haired teen had told him off, was replaced by a serious look. "I assume that's why you dumped your chores on him?"

"Berry tan is too nice to say no." Despite her happy tone she wasn't smiling either. "I don't want him to lose to it. Not after he beat it once."

"It seems like his control is slipping though, especially when he sleeps. He's retreating a lot too, and arguing with it." It was hard to miss the arguments when one half tended to be out loud more often than not, Ichigo didn't seem to realize he was doing it either, but at least the teen seemed more annoyed than serious from the bits and pieces that did get through. Most of what he did say out loud was mumbled and hard to understand. It was worrisome though, the fluctuations in reiatsu from Ichigo, the hollow's leaking out more and more.

"Should we talk to him about it then?" She asked, even though that's exactly what Hirako had been trying to do.

"Give him a little longer, if it gets too bad we'll bring it up."

"But what if we're not in time?" Mashiro sounded honestly concerned, and she probably was, the brat had grown on all of them despite his unsocial personality.

"Then we'll have to kill him."

Rukia smoothed an invisible crease in her hakama, taking a steadying breath before she nodded to Renji. It wasn't hard to see the worry on his face, they were both nervous, but she had the feeling it was more for her than himself. Honestly, the idiot shouldn't be concerned. Renji was higher rank and therefore carried more responsibility for what they had done.

"Guess this is it." Zabimaru was thrust into a lock, a space between dimensions, and turned like a key. Almost instantly doors appeared, pleasant-seeming with their simple and traditional style of wood and rice paper. Renji was scowling as the doors slid open and black Hell butterflies flew out to greet them.

Nothing more was said between them during the short walk back to Soul Society; Rukia really had nothing to say, her thoughts were only on what punishment they might receive for what they had tried to do, and knowing nothing could compare to losing the battle and nearly losing their lives.

She'd lost something more during that time to, she just wished she knew exactly how and when.

As they reached the other side, their path ended with a set of doors the same as the first. It was like they had walked a big circle, and were to only end up right where they'd started, with another chance to win the fight. Reality wasn't so kind, though, and all that awaited them were the consequences of their actions, be they ones they were more than willing to face for the risk they had taken for a friend.

"Ukitake Taichou?" The question had left her lips, and Renji's as well, before either of them could regain their composure and stand at perfect attention once more, mouths no longer gaping. Byakuya was supposed to be there as well, if not an escort guard of some sort. One sickly captain was not what she had been expecting, not what either of them had been expecting.

"Aburai Fukutaichou, Kuchiki Rukia, welcome back." Ukitake Jushiro greeted formally, the smile Rukia was so accustomed to seeing absent from his face.

Both of them bowed, nearly bent in half at the waist. "We are prepared to accept any punishment for our actions." Monotonous voices said automatically, sounding so foreign that Rukia barely recognized them as Renji's and her own.

There was a long pause, one from which Rukia didn't dare look up. She respected her captain, loved him like family even, but she knew better than anyone not in her division that he was not a man to be crossed. Just as any captain of the Gotei thirteen, more so in some ways, he was a force to be reckoned with.

"There will be no punishment for either of you." The words were terribly quiet, but made up for it with the sheer force of implication.

"What do you mean?" She'd blurted it out, and was half way back up out of her bow before she could catch herself.

Her captain only smiled at her, almost sad, and a bit frightening in the respect that it was not an expression he should have been wearing at that particular time. "Kuchiki Taichou has taken on both of your punishments, you are free to go."

Rukia knew her mouth was hanging open, working in an attempt to find words. None would come. It was... it wasn't possible, that's what it was. Byakuya had helped them go to Hueco Mundo, but they had made the decision and had disobeyed orders, not him. She honestly didn't know whether to feel angry or guilty, but her legs had already made a decision for her and she was running as fast as she could, all but using shunpo to go to the only place she could think to.

She threw open doors, feet padding heavily over hard wood, echoing through the otherwise silent house. Searching room after room until she had no where else to look.

Of course he wouldn't be here, he wouldn't be home, he'd taken on both hers and Renji's punishments. They probably had him locked away somewhere, or worse. The very thought caused a ball of ice to form in the pit of her stomach. So, her shoulders slumping, she made her way out to the back, where the gardens were.

It was here she found her second surprise upon entering Soul Society. He was just sitting there, feet hanging over the edge of the porch, in a simple yukata, and sipping tea like an old man. He was looking at her though, with that same unreadable expression he'd worn all these years and she'd never been able to decipher. So cold and calculating, but it had been hiding a secret she'd have never guessed up until a little while ago. It was hiding his reasons now.

"Sorry to intrude." She dropped to a low bow, her legs shaking, but she didn't know if it was from panic or relief.

------

"Rukia!" Renji called out, taking two steps before a gentle hand placed on his shoulder stopped him as effectively as if Zaraki Kenpachi had yanked him back by the collar of his shirt.

"Abarai kun. I need to speak with you." The white haired captain's voice was less emotionless now than it had been before, a hint of something troubling him lurking there. "What I said before was true, but I said it first for a reason." Renji turned to see that Ukitake was not looking at him, but staring after the girl who'd just taken off like the wind.

"What do you mean?" He was cautious about asking, because he knew how serious the rest of what needed to be said must be. There was an unmistakable tension in the air, and even someone as dense as that idiot Ichigo would be able to pick up on it if he were here.

"What I mean is," Ukitake folded his arms over his chest, tucking his hands into either sleeve of his white cloak, "there was something more that needs to be explained about the situation, but Kuchiki Taichou will not come out with it, and you'd better interpret this to her than I could."

This was about Rukia then, that did not make him feel any better. "I'll do my best, sir."

"It's a bit of a story, so, would you please accompany me on a walk?" Without waiting the captain turned and started off, Renji followed.

------

_Kuchiki Byakuya walked quickly but unhurriedly through the corridors to where the meeting was about to begin. The others would already be gathered, but that was because he had been summoned after the fact, to be held accountable for helping two Shinigami enter Hueco Mundo against orders._

_As the doors swung open his white cloak billowed in his foot steps, settling around him like a blanket of snow as he knelt between the two perfect rows and before a raised dais where his judge sat._

_"Do you have an explanation for your actions, Kuchiki Taichou?" Yamamoto asked without precursor, straight to the point as he always was._

_"I do not." His answer was simple and delivered without a hint of fear or regret, without any emotion to reveal what he was thinking._

_"Hm, and how do you propose we deal with your insubordination?" It was a question that was not really a question, the appropriate punishment having already been decided, but this was an opportunity for him to make repentance in another way, gain back a little of the face he had lost with his uncharacteristically irrational actions._

_"Any way that is seen fit." Byakuya continued on before more could be said by Yamamoto. "I also claim responsibility for my subordinates' actions."_

_A brief murmur passed through the other captains but died quickly as the captain of the first division spoke once more. "Kuchiki Rukia is not your subordinate, despite the fact that she is a member of your clan. You cannot claim this responsibility."_

_"Then I request she be transferred to the sixth division."_

_-----_

"W...what?" Rukia stuttered.

"I will only repeat myself once. You are an active member of the sixth division starting immediately. You will report first thing in the morning." He still sat there as if nothing had changed, as if this were the most natural thing in the world. It had come out of nowhere, she hadn't even had the chance to voice her concerns, the reason she'd come.

"Yes sir." What did she say to this? How was she supposed to respond to a sudden reassignment in the middle of her worrying?

_"Sorry to intrude."_

_"You've only arrived, I doubt that you've completed moving your things to the sixth division barracks." He had greeted her apology for intrusion by ignoring it entirely._

Which left her where she currently was, too stunned to speak. "Nii sama... err Taichou..." Which was she supposed to address him by? This was his house, and he was out of uniform, but he was now her commanding officer and had just issued an order.

He'd gone back to looking at the garden, possibly having expected her to leave, so when he turned to her again he had one eyebrow slightly raised in question. "Was there something else you wanted?" Like her arriving here had been simply for finding out she was to be transferred divisions, and what her orders were.

"Why.." Why had he had her transferred so suddenly, why had he allowed them to go in the first place, "why did you take our punishments?" Whatever they had been, he'd probably taken them upon his own, and it left her surprised he hadn't been stripped of rank. Almost surprised, they were short on captains as it was and couldn't afford having to replace another.

"I enabled the two of you to go, so I cannot allow punishment where I am at fault." His eyes were once more focused out in the garden, his tea cup coming up to brush his lips for a moment before his hands fell back to cradle it in his lap. Everything about him was nobility, honor, and perfection. Rukia couldn't find it in her to voice any of the other dozens of questions that single answer had spawned. It was impossible to question something like that.

"Forgive my rudeness." For asking the question, for barging in on him without announcing herself, for never being able to understand his reasoning no matter how obvious it was, and for any other way she couldn't quite live up to what she should be in his eyes. Her bow this time was deeper than the first, and she turned and walked away with the practiced perfection nobility like him possessed naturally.

She didn't even notice his eyes following her until she was well out of sight.


	5. Lord and Master

**Author's Note: **Well, that only took me forever... again. Anywho, chapter five for you. Things are finally moving along, and soon all sorts of shit is going to hit the fan. And now I'm off to work on the next chapter.

Thanks for all of the great reviews, your thoughts are always appreciated, and it's always great motivation for me to get off my ass and write.

"That was an amateur mistake, baldy!" Hiyori shouted as if she had been the one hit.

Ichigo spit out a mouthful of blood, not bothering to bring a hand up and inspect the damage to his face. The zanpakuto's hilt had broken the bone, plain and simple, and tomorrow he'd be sporting a lovely bruise of black and purple. Just the bruise to his face and the bone, he'd let the hollow heal the fracture at the very least.

_"Ahh, the peanut gallery. What would we do without such wonderful insight?"_ The hollow supplied in mock admiration and awe. _"We don't need her opinion to tell us how much you suck at fighting, Aibou."_ He'd taken to referring to everything said to Ichigo as being said to the both of them, like anyone would want to speak to him.

"Shut up." Ichigo said it out loud, meaning it for the both of them. He didn't let Hiyori's or the Hollow's commentaries distract him from his current opponent. Love was staring at him with black and gold eyes from behind a bone mask that looked almost comical with his afro style hair, but there was nothing funny about fighting a vizard in released form. He tightened his grip on Zangetsu , the black sword hilt slick with his own sweat and much of his own blood. Even if he was getting better with each battle he fought, it was still an ass kicking on his end each and every time.

The bastard in his head said it was working though, that they were getting stronger by the day.

Ichigo didn't think it was all the fighting though; he was sure a lot of it was him getting used to the hollow just being there, a constant in his life rather than some violent beast kept behind thick steel bars. Using the other's reiatsu to heal himself, listening to advice or insight on fighting as he trained, and just coexisting. All of it was making them stronger, together. Too bad the entire mess was turning him into a paranoid freak show. For the past three days he'd been jumping at shadows, and he might as well keep it up because with the terms set a fucking shadow probably could break their contract.

_"You should stop pulling your punches. They aren't your friends, they don't care if we go off to Hueco Mundo again and never come back. They're just taking pity on you, weakest vizard in the bunch, that's what they think. We are so much stronger than them, and you know it, but they will hate us for it if they find out." _All of it was said so casually, so offhandedly that it was hard not to consider for fact. Ichigo didn't think he was holding back at all when he fought them, except for not calling on his own powers to fight them, but maybe knowing who he was fighting was staying his hand for just half a second, holding back his strength by just a fraction.

There was no question, however, that they would hate him for what he had become.

"Shall we continue?" Love asked, and Ichigo realized he'd been standing there, sort of staring off into space as he thought again. "Maybe it's better if we stop."

"No." Hiyori spoke, glaring at the orange haired teen instead of the other vizard. "Keep going."

He was probably just being paranoid; he was increasingly so as of late, but maybe she suspected something?

"If something like this stops me now, I'll die in a real fight." Even before he'd finished speaking he was moving. Flash stepping forward as his blade came up and around, like a black blur in the air. It met with steel as Love blocked, blades sliding against each other until cross guards met and locked together. Was that surprise in those black and gold eyes? It was hard to tell behind the mask, and honestly, he didn't care much. He was pissed, for no particular reason. He was just angry and wanted to take it out on someone.

Lifting a foot, it connected solidly with Love's stomach, sending him back more than just a few steps. Taking the initiative of now having his sword free, he swung again putting all of his weight behind the blow, ready to feel it connect with steel or flesh. Either would be satisfying.

"STOP."

That single word froze him where he was, and only now did he realize that there was no zanpakuto to block the blow that had nearly connected. Ichigo found himself staring at a blade pressed into white bone that had a spider web crack beginning in it and wondering just how he'd managed it.

_"See Aibou, we're stronger, you just need to stop holding back."_

"What the hell, were you trying to kill him? Or maybe you're just stupid?" Hiyori was now standing between them, glaring Ichigo down even with her diminutive size. "You need to control yourself, you can't just run wild like that." There seemed to be more meaning behind those words, but Ichigo couldn't be sure. " _Control_ is the most important thing about training." The emphasis there, obvious even with her screaming like she was, made the hair on the back of his neck stand on end. "Get the fuck out of here. You're not eating tonight, and you'll be damn lucky if you get to eat in the morning!"

_"They hate us."_

--------

"Just give him a couple more days."

"A couple of days! We've given him the better part of a week and he nearly killed one of us without thinking about it. He's _losing_to it." Hiyori was, for once, not shouting which made her words all the more powerful. The low hiss of her voice wasn't to prevent being overheard, but an indicator of just how angry she really was.

Hachi didn't argue further, as much as any of them really didn't want to admit it, she was being the voice of reason. They could no longer call Ichigo their friend, only a threat. If he lost control they would all be hard pressed to contain the damage and kill him, because despite all logic, without even using an ounce of the hollow reiatsu that was flaring wildly, he was getting stronger.

"We are going to put an end to this, one way or another." The other vizards nodded in agreement, steeling themselves for a battle with a former comrade. It wasn't the first, but it was a reminder that it would not be the last.

--------

Rukia tried to concentrate on the paperwork in front of her, but the feeling of anxiety that had been building in her since her return to Soul Society made her stomach churn. It had been more than a week, but with all that had been going on it felt like so much more time had elapsed, and that the events she should be worrying about were passing her by. What was worse was that she didn't even know how they were playing out.

Orihime was still in Hueco Mundo, as far as anyone had heard, though she hadn't been getting much news on that situation. She was too busy with paperwork, and when she did get a moment to get out everyone seemed very tight lipped over it. Like they were purposefully not telling her.

If they thought that would make her less concerned, they were wrong. She already knew things were worse than any of them had originally been aware of. She could see Renji knew it too, with the way he was staring at the same piece of paper for longer than it took to read over it. Then again, before they even came back she knew he was hiding something from her. She hated how he wouldn't tell her things because he thought he was protecting her.

She knew he'd spoken to Ichigo after he'd disappeared, when she had been so desperately trying to find the dense idiot after he'd been acting so out of character. Renji had found him somehow and had kept it from her for some reason.

She'd been meaning to bring it up, to beat the information out of him if necessary, but things had been hectic in other ways that had been keeping her off balance. Sure most of her time had been spent sitting in the same room as the sixth division vice captain doing paperwork, but much of it had been in a daze on her part. It was hard to keep up with events when they just didn't make sense no matter how she tried to piece them together.

First, Byakuya had taken both of their punishments, even going so far as to transfer her into his division to do so. She had been sure he had purposefully kept her in another division because he didn't want to deal directly with her, but now he'd gone so far as to make her a seated officer and the third seat on top of that. She had found out not too long ago that he had been keeping her from holding any sort of ranking, and then suddenly she's the third highest person in his own division.

Not that she was complaining about recognition, but it wasn't near as exciting as she was sure it was supposed to be. All she'd done was paperwork, Renji's paperwork actually, while Renji did Byakuya's in his absence. She had no idea what Byakuya was doing while he was leaving everything else to the two of them, but she did know every other seated officer was out fighting hollows, patrolling and working for the better of Soul Society and the living world.

Rukia felt that she could have lived without the promotion.

Renji hadn't said anything about it, well not really, lots of angry grumbling and cursing but nothing coherent or intelligent. That was his normal reaction to paperwork though; she'd heard him complain about it more times than she'd care to count since he'd been made vice captain. That didn't dispel the feeling that something was off about this whole thing, maybe it was the way he was purposefully not looking at her and seemed to be fidgeting a lot more than usual, the way he did when he was trying to think of the best way to word something he felt would get him murdered.

She put down her ink brush and rubbed at her temples, trying to ward off a headache she could feel building but only managing to smear ink across her face. "Renji."

The redhead gave a little start, like he'd forgotten she was there, or had been deep in thought. She was almost tempted to completely rule out the latter. "Yeah?"

Rukia opened her mouth to speak, only to realize she had no idea what she was going to say. _'What are you hiding from me?'_ Like that would work, it was to easy to deny or just dance around. _'What happened that you aren't telling me?'_ It was too similar and just as easily avoided. She closed her mouth again. She should have put more thought into this, instead of overlooking the details.

"Actually…" It was her turn to start, she hadn't expected him to take the initiative. "I think we should go back." He looked her straight in the eye, resolve there that was normally reserved for the battle field. "We should go back to-"

He was cut off as the shogi door slid open and both of them turned to see their MIA captain returned.

"Taichou." She'd never seen her childhood friend jump like that.

"Nii sama." She stood and bowed, mimicking the vice captain.

Cold black eyes swept over both of them, and settled on the redhead. "Come with me." And as quickly as that he'd turned and left the room almost as if he'd never been there.

With only a moments confusion Renji was following, leaving Rukia alone with the paperwork and the distinct feeling that both of them had glanced back at her as he walked off. It all made her wonder if she wasn't being more closely guarded than she'd been before all of this.

-------

Renji cursed mentally, following behind Byakuya who was walking in a way that said he expected to be followed without question. Most of what Byakuya did was in a way that demanded you keep your mouth shut and do as you were told, but the red head had the distinct feeling that he was in trouble, that he'd been overheard.

He hadn't felt anyone's reiatsu anywhere even close to the office they'd been working in, yet somehow he'd missed it, even if he was sure that Byakuya wasn't putting any effort into hiding his presence.

Renji had been thinking, since he'd had that shouting match with Ichigo back in the living world, and had been more and more convinced since that they shouldn't have left the idiot. He should have knocked him out and dragged him off before he hurt himself. Before he'd never been too sure what was going on with the stupid bastard, but he'd felt it then, it had taken a while for just what it was to register but there was no doubt in his mind that it was the same as a hollow. If anything, it felt like Ichigo was the same as the Arrancar.

That wasn't right though, it was different than the Arrancar. It wasn't a mix of the two powers, Shinigami and Hollow, but both of them separate and coming from one person. He'd ignored it then, because he'd been pissed, and because everything told him there was no possible way for Hollow reiatsu to be coming from Ichigo. It was just stupid.

Of course he'd only recently remembered, because it had been one hell of a confusing week for him. It being bad enough that he felt indebted to Byakuya for taking his punishment, but that he had in the first had been a blow he'd equate to a brick to the head. There was also finding the right way to tell the story to Rukia that he'd heard from Ukitake, one of the easier things he'd had to deal with actually. What had gotten him though was Rukia's promotion, when for all these years Byakuya had been holding her back, the second she's in his division she's made third seat and then, out of no where, about a months worth of paperwork for the both of them.

All of the shock of the world getting turned on its head had finally worn off and he had gone back to thinking about Rukia's odd behavior and Ichigo's which brought him full circle. Ichigo's weird reiatsu. Maybe Rukia had noticed it too and that's why she'd been so depressed looking, or maybe Ichigo was just an ass again and had hurt her feelings. Though he didn't think Rukia's feelings were that easy to hurt, in that way she was one of the strongest people he knew, scary even.

Any way he looked at it though, Ichigo needed to have his ass kicked at the very least. More than that though, he had to explain what the hell was going on without trying to avoid the subject like he did before. It would be a hell of a lot harder for him to dance around the subject now that Renji had noticed the Hollow reiatsu, that wasn't just something you could say 'it's nothing' to and leave it at that.

He stumbled, realizing Byakuya had stopped walking, and narrowly avoided running into him. He took half a step back so he wasn't standing so uncomfortable close to the arrogant bastard.

As if sensing the thought insult, Byakuya turned, sharp eyes locking on his vice captain's. It was more unsettling that he didn't say anything, causing the urge to fidget to arise. He had no doubt that he and Rukia had been overheard, not anymore, and where Byakuya had helped them before he highly doubted that the stuffy noble was going to be so giving again. Especially after whatever punishment he was supposed to have received for all three of their going against orders.

"Orders will soon be issued for an invasion on Hueco Mundo, with the cooperation of the substitute Shinigami Kurosaki Ichigo." Byakuya stated coldly, the information taking Renji by surprise, having expected almost anything else.

"Yes sir." He didn't know why he had to come all the way out here to hear this news, it would travel through the ranks and everyone would know it by the end of the day.

"However, there will be exceptions to those sent, if a captain does not find a subordinate competent for instance. Most likely they will be left behind to handle the paperwork that such a large mobilization of Seiretei's forces will require."

That was it, this was a threat. It almost made Renji laugh to think about it, both of them, he and Byakuya wanted to protect Rukia, but they went about it different ways. Byakuya was putting her in a cage, he'd helped her once let her run off and she was nearly killed, now he was putting her in a place where he had so much control that she couldn't so much as breathe without his consent.

"I wasn't very interested in going back there so soon." Renji pretended to shrug it off, though he really didn't want to go and get his ass kicked all over again. "I'm interested, though, in just how anyone is gonna convince Ichigo to work with Shinigami again, after the way Yamamoto Taichou treated him before. He doesn't have many friends here and no one is making it easier for him to like us." Really, he and Rukia were the best to go and talk with him, and Byakuya would know that too. His captain wouldn't be so stupid to tie him down here when he was probably the only one who could talk Ichigo into not being pissed with the bureaucracy here in Soul Society and him getting screwed over by it. Well, it was only him because with as protective as stick-up-the-ass nii sama was being Rukia would never be able to do it.

A single eyebrow arched at him, a calculating gaze trying to stare him down. "I believe you have work to complete."

"I'm sure Rukia can sign a sheet of paper as well as I ever could." She'd hate him for dumping even more work on her.

"I will inform you on the situation regarding the substitute Shinigami's cooperation."

-------

"Would you stop it?" Ichigo was extremely uncomfortable with the current situation, for more than one reason.

_"But you're so tense Aibou, I'm just trying to help you relax." _It would have been almost believable if the Hollow wasn't laughing as he said it.

"I don't need your help." He rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off the invisible hands he could feel on them. It was so disconcerting, and definitely something he didn't need to know the Hollow was capable of, not in his head but not physically manifested. What was worse is that as much as it bothered him, as much as he still hated the arrogant crazy monster living in his head it was nice to feel something that wasn't pain. Since the rules of their little deal had been laid out the only thing he'd felt was literally the fists of the Vizards, only narrowly escaping when Hirako tried to smack him on the back good natured-ly, dancing out of the way when someone came close to bumping into him, and even making sure that when his plate was handed to him at meals that his hands didn't brush against whoever was handing it over.

Long fingers continued to work at the knots that were, despite Ichigo's tenseness at being touched by the Hollow, slowly coming undone. _"Of course you do, you asked for it yourself. You are the one who extended the hand of friendship and made us partners."_ The world games were getting old, but Ichigo didn't want to go through the effort of trying to think of something that couldn't be twisted around, and arguing with a voice in his head would get him nowhere. Maybe he should just punch the bastard in the face, that would help him relax.

"I hate you." He rolled his eyes, turning over so he was lying on his back, staring up at the ceiling of the room that was temporarily his.

_"I know you do."_ He sounded delighted by the idea, almost like that hate was everything he wanted in his life. _"I hate you too, Aibou." _Somehow saying it in that tone of voice made it seem like they were talking intimately, the Hollow twisting everything again, even that simple phrase. The thought of pillow talk with his Hollow made his stomach twist into a knot, and the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, like the feeling of being watched while walking alone at night.

Except he was never alone and he was always being watched. The Vizards were watching him, when they weren't the Shinigami were, and the Hollow had been his whole life. Watching ever moment pass, trapped in the shadows until Rukia came and gave him the power to protect those around him, that power was the key to his own Shinigami powers and the lock that had kept him safe from the psychopath living in his head. "We can't stay here much longer." He didn't want anymore small talk.

_"No we can't." _Again he was pleased with the prospect. _"They think we'll kill them."_

"Who's fault is that?" Ichigo spat back, ignoring the continued massage he didn't want as he felt phantom hands move down his arms.

_"Yours, you nearly killed one today. You're always holding back, thinking you might accidentally hurt one of them, and you can't do that because this is just training not a real fight. Today you decided to go all out, to get angry like you should in a fight. Today you almost killed someone." _

Ichigo's stomach churned, that all sounded too much like praise. "I'm not going to kill any of them, as long as they don't try and kill me."

_"They want us dead, or they will soon. You better get used to that idea."_

Ichigo closed his eyes, and found himself in his inner world. The sky was grey and cloudy again, but it didn't look in danger of raining. He got the feeling he'd never hear the end of it if the Hollow was forced to sit in here and be wet. "We'll leave before that happens."

"Maybe." Black lips were stretched into a cocky grin as the Hollow sat lounging on the sideways building.

"We won't give them any reason to need to kill us, or follow us if they decide they do have a reason." He never liked being in here, but at least he didn't have to feel hands that weren't there when he could see the bastard.

"You think they'll let it go that easily. Aren't they the ones that told you that I couldn't be reasoned with, and that I had to be controlled? They'll never accept that we're working together, they'll tell you how I'm going to turn on you and steal your throne, take my place as King."

"They won't be telling me anything I don't already know." Ichigo scoffed. "You know I don't trust you."He was surprised that the Hollow hadn't turned on him yet, with as much leeway as he'd been given. Still, Ichigo's guard wasn't completely dropped yet; the better they got along the more he expected to be stabbed in the back at any moment.

"Now that just hurts my feelings." The smile was replaced by a look of false pain, then again, everything about the ghostly figure was false. Everything but the threat he presented.

"You don't have feelings." Ichigo countered, knowing that Hollow's were heartless, knowing that this one was just a clone with a hole in its chest.

"Sure I have feelings, I feel hungry."

"That doesn't count."

"Oh, but I don't think you understand. It hurts so bad." A hand dramatically clutched at white Shihakushou. "The gnawing pain, deep in my chest, the need to fill that void with something. Anything." Ichigo ignored the crazed look flashing across impossibly colored eyes. "Hate, anger, fear... something, some sort of obsession."

"That's why you drive me insane all the time, so you have some amusement? Or does that not count as something?" Ichigo rolled his own eyes, dismissing the dramatics out of hand. "Maybe I'll get you a puzzle, you need a hobby." He took half a step back, startled at how in less than a blink the Hollow was right up in his face.

"I have a hobby, Aibou. Right here." A finger jabbed into his chest, the black nail biting at his skin even through the layers of fabric. "Someone to play with, and to keep me company in this boring world with bad weather."

Ichigo smacked the hand away, turning and stalking a few steps off, uncomfortable with how comfortable he'd become being in proximity to his pale doppelganger. "You're a sick bastard."

"Don't say that. 'Sick Bastard' isn't my name." Another joke, everything was a joke with him. No matter how depraved it was.

"You don't have a name. Besides, what else should I call you? 'Hollow' doesn't seem to fit, even if it is what you are."

Black lips spread into a wide grin, exposing perfect teeth. "Lord and Master works." Of course it would be something like that.

Ichigo rolled his eyes, sighing at the complete lack of seriousness even to this question. "Oh my God." An endless battle with a crazy man, if he could manage to get a straight answer on anything it would be a miracle to match any of the strange shit he'd whittnessed since he'd gained Shinigami powers.

"That works too, in fact, I think I like it better." Smug self satisfaction wasn't good enough to describe the amount of ego contained in that sentence.

"No, I will not call you that. Ever." It was nice to see that grin slip, if only a little bit. He braced himself for another smart ass remark, already thinking of a dozen possible things to expect out of that mouth.

"Fine, fine. Just think of something. You're a smart kid, sometimes, I'm sure you can think of a good name." He waved it off, like it was unimportant, but somehow he seemed interested, excited even. The impression was made stronger by lack of smart ass as in comparison to the rest of their conversation.

"Okay... how about... I don't know, you're such an asshole." It was Ichigo's turn to grin like an evil bastard. "Yeah, that's it, Asshole. It fits you perfectly, describes you like no other word can."

"Hey, you can't call me tha-"

"Well, it's late. Goodnight Asshole."

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Bottom of Form


	6. Act Like a Man

**Author's note: **I told you reviews made me write faster. Have another chapter...

Just please don't kill me for it? Kthnx? Onto plot development!!!!

Also, thanks to moonlit dew for catching that typo at the end... it definitely needed fixed.

"Why am I watching this stupid little bitch again?"

Orihime flinched at the name calling, but didn't comment on it. She was already sporting a black eye from where he'd hit her before when she didn't stop talking when he told her to. He'd promised to make the other one match if she complained one more time.

"You were available to do so." Ulquiorra seemed unconcerned with the glare he was receiving from the Espada nearly twice his height, though he always seemed unconcerned with everything. And with a beaten and bloodied Grimmjow unconsciously draped over one shoulder, Orihime had a hard time imagining that he could be put off by much of anything.

"So now I have to play babysitter just because my fight ended faster? That's just fucking stupid." Nnoitora straightened from where he was leaning against the white stone wall of the hallway. "What are you going to do with that?" 'That' being the Sexta Espada.

"He's not gonna do shit with me." Three sets of eyes turned to Grimmjow, who was just regaining consciousness. "Other than put me down." To say he sounded unhappy was an understatement. Orihime thought it might have something to do with Ulquiorra interfering with his and Ichigo's fight.

There was a moment of unreadable silence before Ulquiorra dumped the injured Arrancar to the floor in an unceremonious heap. With muttered curses Grimmjow stood, standing straight even though it was obvious that he was worse for wear. Orihime had missed most of the fight, but she had felt Ichigo's reiatsu go weird and get really powerful for a little bit, she wasn't really sure what happened because almost as soon as it did Ulquiorra had shown back up from wherever he'd been sent by Grimmjow before,

"Get out of my way."

"Explain your actions."

The Sexta and Cuarta Espada stared at each other, each waiting for the other to speak. Neither did.

"This is stupid." Nnoitora rolled his eye, crossing his arms over his chest. "Just kill him, it's not like it's worth keeping him around."

She really didn't get what was going on, not at all. She couldn't understand why they were fighting with each other like this, weren't they allies? "If he hadn't come to get me I could have been killed by those two." The words were out of her mouth before she even knew what she was saying, realizing that she was defending Grimmjow.

"Shut up." He growled at her. "This has nothing to do with you."

"You shouldn't kill him." She stepped forward, ignoring the unspoken threat from the blue haired man. "If it weren't for him I'd be dead, then how much trouble would you be in for not watching me like you were supposed to?" She stared defiantly into unblinking green eyes, standing up to him even as her stomach tied itself into neat little knots of fear.

The way he looked at her made her feel like a small child throwing a temper tantrum. It really was stupid though, why should she complain over one of the enemies dying? Maybe she just felt like she owed him, if it weren't for him Ichigo would have bled out on the floor. He was responsible for saving her friend's life, even if he didn't see it that way.

The silence stretch on, for what seemed like a long time, until she began to feel uncomfortable under that gaze, fidgeting back and forth. She sighed in relief when he turned his attention away again. "Aizen sama will decide what happens to you."

"Tch, whatever." Grimmjow stuffed his hands into the slits of his hakama like they were pockets. "It's not like it's not obvious." He didn't expect to live and that somehow made Orihime sad.

"At least let me heal him." She needed to pay him back somehow.

"No. You will be escorted back to your room." A brief glance indicated that he meant for Nnoitora to do the escorting. "Grimmjow will be looked after by Szayel Aporro." Nnoitora's scowl was replaced by a broad grin, while Grimmjow became scarily stoic, enough to rival Ulquiorra at that moment.

"How benevolent of you." Orihime had only met the Octava Espada once, and that had been enough for her. She didn't understand how someone could smile like that; it made her skin crawl than the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. All of the Espada scared her, but for some reason she didn't like him the most.

"Stop standing around." She was yanked out of her thoughts by a rough grip on her upper arm, the Quinta dragging her down the hallway as the Sexta and Cuarta went the other way.

-------

Orihime fiddled with the hem of her skirt as she sat perched on the edge of the couch. She'd been sitting here for hours now and hadn't seen or heard from anyone. With the initial confusion from earlier events having worn off all that was left was for her to worry, and she had plenty to worry about.

One by one she had felt her friend's reiatsu cut off. Rukia, Chad, Renji, Ishida, and even Ichigo, but she had been given the chance to help Ichigo. She still didn't know about the others, if they were even alive, or if they had all died in the attempt to rescue her. The thought alone made her want to cry.

She didn't cry, she couldn't. Even if they had died they wouldn't want that, and besides, Ichigo would never let them. She was sure he had saved them all, got them all out in time. Mostly sure anyway. It was hard to tell what was happening anymore by the end of the fight, none of what had gone on made any sense no matter how she thought about it.

Things still weren't making sense. Like the fact that she could probably open the door and wander the halls right now if she wanted to. After Nnoitora had brought her back Tesla had come to tell him something and both of them had disappeared, leaving her completely alone. It was like they weren't even concerned. There wasn't even anyone near by from the reiatsu she could feel.

As if her thoughts had been the cue, the door opened. Even invasions didn't seem to affect the arrival time of dinner with her keeper. And, as always, he was unreadable. She really didn't like Ulquiorra one bit.

"Are my friend's alive?" She hadn't meant to ask, but worrying over them was making her sick.

"They were when they left." At least he didn't lie. "Though the likeliness of their survival is minimal."

"That's good then." Suddenly she felt ten times lighter. If they were alive when they left Hueco Mundo then they couldn't die, she knew her friends were stronger than that. She knew that they would only get stronger, and that they would defeat Aizen in the end. There was no doubt in her mind of that.

"Is that all?"

Orihime glanced back up at Ulquiorra, not realizing she'd been worrying her hem again. She released the wrinkled material, letting it fall back into place. "Is... what's going to happen to Grimmjow?"

He blinked once. "Why does it matter?"

That was a good question, he just wanted to kill her friend, just wanted to fight and cause trouble. "Because he helped me." Because Ichigo would be dead if not for him, because all of her friends would be dead if Ichigo was dead. He'd done something good even if it wasn't intentional, he'd made it so they could all fight another day.

Ulquiorra closed his eyes, sometimes when he did that she thought he was sick of looking at her. Maybe he hated her like she hated him. "He will be punished."

"What does that mean?"

"That he will be punished. Be sure to eat everything."

Then she was alone again.

If she was so unimportant that she didn't even deserve real answers then why was she here again? Another thing that she just couldn't figure out no matter how she thought about it. She wasn't even worth a real prison, no bars and her door wasn't even locked. She wasn't a threat to them, she wasn't really anything, other than maybe a hostage.

Well if they thought she wasn't worth noticing she would use that to do everything she could, being a prisoner didn't mean she couldn't fight, and there was something she knew only she could do. Something that would end this war for good.

-------

After so many years it had ceased to be strange to be stared down by a person who barely came up to the center of his chest.

"I'm not stupid, I know you're hiding something from me." Rukia had her hands on her hips, and one foot looked dangerously close to tapping in frustration.

It was Renji's fault, he knew, that she was this angry. Then again for the past two days he'd been completely avoiding her, since he knew she'd want to ask what he was going to say before Byakuya walked in on their conversation. Under any normal circumstances he'd tell her that he planned on going back, that there was something seriously weird going on with Ichigo, but for once he'd managed to make a deal with a devil that was likely to keep his word. "You're too paranoid."

"You've been avoiding me." As sharp as her glare was, it didn't cut as deep when she used it on the same person she'd perfected it on.

"No, I've been working, and that work happened to be in places you weren't. Don't be mad just because you gotta do all that paperwork by yourself." Admittedly he'd be just as pissed if their situations were reversed, and the problem was he knew she wasn't stupid, but what was he going to tell her?

"You've always been a bad liar, and you aren't getting any better." Rukia jabbed a finger into his chest, hard enough to bruise. "Now out with it before I beat it out of you." For a moment her hand glowed with reshi, a very viable threat, because they both knew he couldn't compare in kido.

He sighed, running a hand over his spiked ponytail. "Look Rukia, so what if I'm not telling the truth, some things are just none of your business." If anything was, this was it, and he felt bad for it. It wasn't as serious as he thought it might be she'd beat him for it later, if Ichigo was in half as much trouble as he guessed she'd kill him. He'd deserve what he got, just for the amount of paperwork he knew was coming her way alone.

Rukia opened her mouth to argue further when someone cleared their throat, both turned to see Byakuya standing there, as if he'd been there the whole time listening to every word.

That would make twice that he'd shown up practically right on top of them with neither noticing. It was getting to be disconcerting.

"I believe there is work left unfinished on your desk." He gave a pointed look to Rukia, an obvious dismissal.

Color draining from her face, she bowed. "Of course." It was easy to tell from her reaction she'd skipped out on work, now she was half walking and half running back to the office where mountains of reports waited for her signature.

"You didn't have to do that, just because she knows I'm keeping things from her doesn't mean she can find out what."

"A meeting is about to start, we would have been late had you continued to argue." Byakuya offered in as much explanation as he ever gave for anything.

"Wait, a meeting? That has nothing to do with me." He had his own goals, and even if they did need to promote someone to fill in the empty seats he wasn't going to be one of them. Besides, they had better choices, people who weren't violating orders all the time.

His captain didn't wait or offer any more information, instead walking off at his normal brisk place towards the meeting hall. Renji really didn't have much of a choice but to follow or be left behind. He got the feeling missing a meeting he was supposed to attend would be the last bad mark on his record.

As it was, they were still the last to arrive, and, as he had suspected, he was the only vice captain there. Still he knew protocol well enough to fall into place behind Byakuya without question or comment, even if he couldn't help obviously staring at the empty places where three of the captains were missing.

Seconds dragged on like what seemed hours, until Yamamoto finally spoke, his voice ringing through the hall. "Let's begin." Again silence as his commanding voice faded away. "The assignment of Shinigami from the Third, Fifth, and Ninth divisions has been decided until replacements can be found. Each of you will be receiving a list of who will be under your command."

Renji didn't get it, wasn't he here because there was something directly pertaining to him? They wouldn't be reassigning all three divisions if he'd been promoted, not that they were going to anyway, that had been out from the start. If he was to be punished for something it would have been the first order of business as well, and anything else that would have required him there would require all the other vice captains to be present as well.

He stopped really listening to the topics being addressed, just getting the general feel for the meeting. It was like any other he had attended in the past, standard business for a war time situation. In other words, it was boring as all hell. Division assignments, and duties to be carried out were address, even though everyone was already aware of them and had a stack of long winded papers for each one already.

He was sure he was about to fall asleep on his feet. Fighting to keep his head up and his eyes open, at least he had mastered not yawning at things like this. That would be sure to get him in trouble, he remembered the first and last time he'd ever done that with a mental shudder. Some mistakes you just don't repeat twice.

"Abarai Renji." His head snapped up, coming back from the edge of unconsciousness instantaneously. "Step forward."

Now, he was either in trouble for sleeping or this was why he was here. "Yes sir."

"You are aware there has been a request for your deployment to the human world." Yamamoto wasn't asking a question. "On what grounds do you think that it will be necessary for someone to negotiate for Kurosaki Ichigo's cooperation in this matter?"

It took a moment for the situation to process, he hadn't even had that little talk with Byakuya two days before and here he was defending his reasoning behind going to the human world. He hadn't even had enough time to think up a half decent lie, and he'd never been good when put on the spot like this. Dammit, dealing with Rukia was one thing, she could know he was lying and not do a thing about it, but this was sort of something that could land him in serious trouble. "I was the last person to speak with him. It was the day before Kuchiki Rukia and I returned to Soul Society." Kind of lame, but it was a good start.

"You are aware of his current location?" Apparently not even the higher ups knew where Ichigo disappeared to when he went missing. Then against, somehow he'd twice managed to completely disappear off the face of the planet, which was ridiculous because he had no control over his reiatsu. A child could find that idiot from half a continent away.

"Yes." At least that was a lie he could tell straight faced. He knew Ichigo was still in Kurakura at the very least. "And I believe he sees me as a friend, so I will have a better chance in enlisting his aid. From the conversation with him on our last meeting and his behavior before that I believe he is planning on acting on his own once again, and that he is unhappy with the Shinigami for refusing to provide a way into Hueco Mundo when Inoue Orihime was kidnapped." Okay, maybe he was getting a little better at this bull shitting on the spot thing. He was getting a lot of practice at it recently.

"This will be taken into consideration." Yamamoto finally said after a few moment. "What of the Quincy? He may prove some use to us in this war."

"The Quincy Archer still hates us." Or at least Ishida claimed to, but seemed to get along with Ichigo, Rukia and himself rather well despite that. "Though he might cooperate to save his friend."

"I see, then you are dismissed. You will be informed of our decision in time."

Renji bowed. "Yes sir." He couldn't help a smug grin as he left, he'd be out of here by the end of the week.

-------

Ichigo knew that all of his fears about the Vizards suspecting something were true when he woke up that morning. He wasn't surprised, that was certain, but he hadn't quite expected what was presented to him now.

"What is this?" He knew what it looked like, everyone but Hirako standing or sitting nearby, with their zanpakuto on their person, while the blond stood out in the usual training area with his hollow mask on and his arms folded over his chest. It almost felt like an execution, the air thick and heavy. Time seeming to slow down as the atmosphere seemed to settle around him.

"Training." Hiyori supplied, arms folded over her chest, looking none to happy about whatever the hell this was supposed to be.

"_This is their way of expressing friendship. They plan to kill us_." The Hollow was in a far too cheery mood, especially considering that, technically, this put his life in danger as well. Oh but he wasn't so stupid as to think that if it didn't come down to it the Hollow wouldn't try to seize control and take care of the situation in his own way. Ichigo planned to avoid that, he needed them in the war, because despite how powerful he could become he was no one man army.

"It's time to stop playing around Ichigo." Hirako's voice lacked it's usual joking quality, and that made the situation all the more serious. "Use your Hollow powers against me. No holding back. It's time to see what you can do."

"_We could kill them. It would be all too easy_." Ichigo didn't agree with that. He was sure that they would be more than a challenge for just him and his Hollow, but now wasn't the time to argue it. If anything this fight would be a good ego deflator all by itself, he was going to be up against someone far more experienced than himself and with a lot of backup.

"The idea was for me to not use them." He shouldn't push the situation, but he hadn't given them reason to suddenly become hostile, besides the slip up the day before. Maybe one little mistake was all it took? No, he didn't think so, they'd been looking at him funny for days now. He'd messed up somewhere else along the line, something he'd missed.

It could have been the whole talking to himself thing, he really needed to get better about not responding to the Hollow out loud.

"Are you afraid?" Hiyori again, she had the feel of someone trying to pick a fight, even though she was sitting on the sidelines. He didn't doubt that she had her own way of wanting to go about this, a more direct method that had been shot down in favor of this method.

He glanced over at her, making sure plenty of sarcasm filled what he said. "Absolutely terrified. You know I have this phobia of masks."

_"Wow Aibou, did you really just manage to come up with a half decent smart ass comment, again? I think this might be the end of the universe_." He was definitely being too easily influenced by that annoying voice in his head, especially if it was complimenting him. "_First last night, and now this morning, you're on a roll_." There was a phantom pat on his back, in what Ichigo assumed was an encouraging manner. More than likely it was condescending.

"Shut up." She jumped to her feet. "You haven't been scared to put on your mask since you first came to beg us for help. Now you won't even touch it." Her hands were balled into fists at either side. "You're a coward, can't even fight like you mean it." The way the others were looking at her she was saying something they agreed with but didn't approve of. No one seemed to want to stop her. "Act like a man."

Her words stung, because she didn't, and couldn't, understand the situation he was in. He wasn't running away from anything, least of all his Hollow, but how could he explain that? "I'm not avoiding it."

"Enough." Both of them turned their attention back to Hirako, his mask pulled aside to reveal a stern look and oddly colored eyes. "If you won't use them it's not my fault if you die." It was a final warning, Hirako was in charge of this situation, and how it was going to play out. He didn't understand what Ichigo had done either, that this wasn't going to be a fair fight.

This was a test, of that he was sure. He'd been lying to them since he got here, but he wouldn't betray them, and he wouldn't put them in danger. Though, depending on what they were thinking. "Fine." He'd seen this coming from the start, he knew he couldn't keep something like what he'd done a secret, but he'd thought he'd have a little more time before it came to this. Maybe, if things went right he could buy himself a little more.

"_Or maybe they've outlived their usefulness_." It was a joyful contribution to his train of thought, for the one supplying it. "_They were never really needed anyway. I told you that from the start. Now they're just plain in the way_."

Using the badge given to him when he first left Soul Society he stepped out of his body, leaving it where it lie as he walked further into the underground training room and away from the other Vizards . He had a feeling that there would be a good deal of collateral damage in this fight, and there was no need to endanger lives or his own body.

He'd called on his bankai before he even took up stance, the ease that it came to him made how hard he'd worked for it before laughable. With as often as he used it, with as weak as it was compared to the power he could reach, it was almost more comfortable to walk around with it than in his shikai.

"I'll go easy on you." That was the Hollow speaking, but as his eyes were already turning and his mask beginning to form the change in his voice would go unnoticed. He was glad that the lower part of his face was covered, because he could feel a grin on his lips.

This would be the first time the two of them had fought together since Hueco Mundo, and somehow it already felt more natural than the last time, their powers twining together more easily. "You're enjoying this, and we haven't even started fighting yet, Asshole." Sounding scolding a little difficult when he was thinking it at someone.

"_Is there a problem with that? You're enjoying it too_."

"Maybe a little." Ichigo admitted with the first clash of steel, the laughter in his head sounding just a little less twisted than he remembered it being before.

Top of Form

Bottom of Form


	7. It had to be the porn talking

**Author's note:** Yo, what up? Chapter seven is here and ready to be read. Three in a week, to say sorry for the long wait between four and five.

Chapter six's special thanks go to SakuraxSkies for finding a type o. Always nice to have those things pointed out, seeing as I'm beta-less.

Onto important stuff now.

The world faded to nothing but his target and himself. A strong voice in his head, speaking in his ear, telling him to fight. Telling him to win, and let nothing stand in his way.

Ichigo didn't even consider the fact that the Hollow might take this opportunity to gain control.

He couldn't say he wasn't enjoying it, the adrenaline in his veins was addictive, the excitement coursing through him wasn't quite foreign but not something he often acknowledged. He almost laughed as the sound of steel on steel reverberated through the rocks and cliffs of the underground training facility, losing himself to the fight.

"What's wrong?" He asked, their swords locked until a push from the blond's sent him spinning to the side, he let the momentum carry him full circle just in time to block another low attack. "You don't seem to be enjoying yourself."

The words weren't his, but they were, the duel quality of his voice becoming more of an echo as the Hollow spoke in unison with him. Working together as one person, as one mind. Ichigo couldn't tell their thoughts apart much anymore, they were a muddled mess in his head. Only the need to fight clearly coming through.

"And you are?" The words were calm as Hirako leaned back, the tip of Ichigo's zanpakuto missing by less than an inch from his mask while his sword came up and under in an attempt to split the teen from crotch to throat but only catching the collar of his haori.

"I wouldn't say that." Ichigo's grin was hidden by a mask that wore one of its own.

_"More Aibou, stop holding back."_ He felt the mental push, another set of hands guiding his own, the Hollow's feelings overpowering. It wasn't like how he remembered when the Hollow took over, he still had control, but it was as if from a distance. Not even when his arm was sliced open did he feel it. Like the very first time he fought Renji, his wounds didn't hurt and he felt _powerful,_energy coming from seemingly nowhere to try and push him past the limits of human exhaustion.

With a quick twist of his wrist as his blade was turned aside he left a long cut over Hirako's thigh, then carried the movement into an left to right swing, catching blond hair as the attack was sidestepped, and receiving a stab to his sword arm in turn. More and more blood darkened the black clothing with each pass and made it sticky, but it didn't hinder his movements, didn't even slow him down.

Cut, dodge, block, cut, and repeat. Their movement flowed and barely connected or missed entirely, but already the damage Ichigo had received was healing, his muscles burning as they knit back together. The bruise on his face from the break the day before had disappeared almost as soon as he'd called on the Hollow.

"When did you get this strong?" A twisted voice that was not his own, steady and dangerous. Somehow, through all of this, Hirako hadn't even started breathing heavily yet.

"In Hueco Mundo." Ichigo replied, more focused fighting and on how his enemy could still be so controlled than answering. He ducked under a swing and felt his fist connect solidly with the blond's side before dropping and rolling to avoid a knee meant for his head.

"_We've never even see him call on his bankai before, he's holding back. He thinks we are too weak to concern himself with."_ Instead of sounding angry, he only sounded more excited. "_Push harder, force him." _It wasn't like the two of them were going full strength either, that would be too easy.

He didn't rush in for his next attack; he wanted his opponent to know it was coming. This fight shouldn't end just yet anyway. "Getsuga Tenshou." The entirety of his field of vision went black, and when it cleared Hirako was still directly opposite him, arm extended and sword horizontal before him.

_"He's good."_

"You canceled it out with a cero." He walked out across the air, their fight having left the ground at some point long ago. They spoke together again, it coming as naturally as how they fought together. "How many times you can do that, I wonder." They wanted to test and find out.

"Only once more."

"That's too bad." He raised his black sword, laughter in his head, no, he was laughing out loud. "_Getsuga Tenshou_."

Blade held high for an immediate repeat of the attack, his voice cut off as cold steel pressed to his throat.

"That's enough. This fight is over."

"You could have ended it at any time." He accused, letting his arms drop, somehow remembering that this was a 'training' match not a real battle. "You were holding back."

"So were you." Hirako stepped back, but didn't lower his sword as he stepped around, keeping it leveled with Ichigo's throat. "But you've all but lost."

"Just this battle." His Hollow corrected for him, taking his turn to speak. "We could fight again."

"Not to me." Hirako pulled his mask aside. "To him."

That simple phrase cut through the fog in his mind, separating them once more into the Hollow and Ichigo. It was like being punched in the stomach as the realization hit him, as he finally saw how he'd been acting, knocking the wind from his lungs and choking him. Craving battle like that, not feeling pain, it was like he'd been a different person. He hadn't though, he hadn't lost control for a moment, only shared it.

_"You wanted to have fun too."_

Ichigo had lost but not to the Hollow, he'd lost to himself. He released all hold on his powers, dropping everything back down to his shikai, mask breaking away into nothing.

"I don't think you get it."

"Shut up." Ichigo growled back, taking a moment to understand that both the first statement and his response had come from his mouth. The Hollow had spoken through him. His eyes widened and his mouth opened as he frantically searched for a cover, searched knowing that there wasn't one. Not in this situation.

"_Calm down, it was too late by now anyway. It's not like we made it any worse. We can just get serious if he tries anything anyway."_

"Don't even bother." The blond Vizard frowned. "We understand." The others were making their way over broken ground and shattered stone to where the two stood still facing each other in mid air. More than half a dozen faces all wearing the same grim expression. "You aren't the first."

What was being said took a moment to process properly, others had lost before him, they'd had to kill their allies before. "No, he's not gaining control." Now Ichigo realized that during the fight the Hollow could have, easily, with how he'd thrown himself in there, practically losing control over his own thoughts. He'd been completely venerable, and so very easily swayed to the other's will.

_"Don't worry Aibou, I had my chance and I didn't take it."_

The zanpakuto's tip raised from level with his throat to his eyes. "Don't make this any more difficult, I've heard it before."

Damn it, this was turning into just the situation he'd wanted to avoid. Fight or flight. He had to try and get away from that, or things would get ugly. "Look, give me a chance to explain." He kept his hands at his sides, trying to be as not aggressive as possible, which was hard when he was pissed. Never mind that it was himself he was pissed at for one hell of a fuck up, and his Hollow for 'helping'.

"I am, and you're wasting it."

-------

"Wait, you're leaving?" Rukia couldn't believe it. "Why?"

"Orders." Renji rolled his eyes, continuing to make sure he had everything in order.

"I get that, but where, _why?_" She persisted, leaning half way over her desk, causing half it's contents to scatter over the floor.

"I'm not at liberty to say." His back was turned to her so she couldn't see the face he was making; otherwise his smirk would give away the lie. "So you'll just have to keep wondering."

"So you get to run off to do something, anything, else, and I get stuck here with this." She motioned to the mess that was her desk and now half the floor around it.

"I'm afraid so, sorry. I wish I could help you out, but it's orders." He closed the drawer on his own desk and schooled his face into a sterner look. "I might be gone for a while too, so you'll have to handle anything new that comes in. Don't worry; I'm sure you'll get some help with it. You can't be expected to do all of this yourself." Byakuya was cruel, but he wasn't any less so for having conspired with him against her. Their goals were different, but if this was what he had to resort to he could deal with it.

"This isn't fair!" She threw her hands up, sitting back on the floor with a thud and sending more papers flying. "Isn't there anyway I could come with you? If it's so important that you can't even talk about it is it really safe to go all by yourself?" He had to find another reason to turn away from her so he didn't laugh at her, hair messy from running her hands through it, and ink stains all across her face sulking behind a mountain of paper. "I'm the third seat; I'm the logical person to accompany you."

"I'm sorry, I have to go alone." He straightened out his shihakusho, facing her one more time with the straightest face he could manage. He was going to help their friend, despite what his orders really were, and he was only leaving her behind because Byakuya would make his life a living hell if he so much as breathed a wrong word. Honestly, Renji was sure Rukia was much more suited to the task, but he'd opted to not tell her anything given the situation. And, on the off chance that this turned out to be a huge problem, he'd be saving her from having to deal with it. He hadn't forgotten how she'd acted when the first arrived here. As much as he hated to admit it, Rukia cared for Ichigo.

He still hadn't said anything about the weird reiatsu to her either; she'd probably missed it like he had before that time on the street. It was similar to an Arrancar's so it was probably lost when they were busy fighting them; no one would have been paying attention before that. He wondered if Ichigo even realized he'd been advertising whatever secret he was keeping to the whole world. With the way the Hollow reiatsu was getting stronger and weaker Renji doubted the idiot knew.

"Fine, go." From pleading to angry in less than a second, he just managed to dodge her shoe as she threw it as hard as she could, at his head. "I hope you get eaten by something."

"At least I won't be in danger of death by paper cut." He slammed the door shut just in time to hear the thump of her other shoe against the wood.

------

Rukia felt all the energy drain from her once the door separated her and Renji for what would be the last time for a while to come. Drooping so her head rested against the cool wood of the desk, on the only clear spot it possessed currently.

She wasn't stupid, not by a long shot. She'd grown up with him, knew him better than he knew himself. Not to mention he still couldn't lie worth a shit. It was no secret where he was going, just because he wouldn't say, and Byakuya wouldn't say didn't mean that anyone else who knew wasn't talking. She was on good terms with more than one vice captain who had heard from their captains. In fact most of the higher ranking Shinigami knew about it.

He was so idiotic sometimes.

She envied him though, getting to go back to the living world. She hated being here, knowing what was going on there. She worried about Chad and Ishida, but mostly she worried about Ichigo. He was the biggest idiot she knew, and had this amazing way of getting himself in more trouble than he could handle. She wondered what he was going to do without someone there to bail him out. She'd just have to trust Renji to knock some sense into him. That was just about the only thing the redhead was good for, a punch to the face when someone needed it.

Standing and stretching her legs, she began to gather all the papers she'd managed to scatter over the office. It was a bunch of junk, nothing at all worth even looking at, but she'd been told that a signature was needed on all of them. She was going to have to get a wrist brace from the fourth division in a day or so.

Now, the real mystery here was what unearthly power had possessed Renji and Byakuya to work together. She was pretty sure it was one of the signs of the Apocalypse. Maybe it was her duty to warn the masses that the end was near. No, their goal was what confused her. Why wouldn't Renji want her to go with him, and why would Byakuya be so intent on keeping her here? The logical answer to the latter was his pulling strings to keep her safe again, like how he'd kept her from being a seated officer for so many years, but that didn't explain the vice captain.

For one thing, she'd straightened out Ichigo more than once. She was more than capable of setting him straight, especially if he decided to mope and complain about working with the Shinigami. She'd be sure to remind him who's been helping him out, and wouldn't take no for an answer. Not that she expected it from him, in the end it would only help with rescuing Orihime. It wasn't like she was useless or anything.

Then again, maybe there was another reason, one she didn't know about it. There could be something Renji knew that Ichigo was keeping from her; he'd been acting especially out of the ordinary when they'd returned from Hueco Mundo. Something was weighing heavily on him, more so than anything before. He'd never taken to failing well, but he knew he could always try again, even if he had to be reminded once in a while.

The thought briefly crossed her that he might feel guilty over liking Orihime instead of her, but trying to keep from laughing at how ridiculous that sounded made her sides hurt. She couldn't deny that he was far away though, too far for her to reach, that was obvious. He didn't used to be, but he seemed to be furthering that distance when she'd seen him last, watched him walk away and disappear from her life.

He'd been telling her that that was it, it was the end. It had never been so hard to say goodbye, but she wanted to at least understand why he was doing it. He seemed to be forcing himself, and maybe she could bring him back. Maybe, but things would never be what they were in those moments.

She'd tried not to worry too much over it, and it had been easy not to with how her life had been turned upside down upon her return to Soul Society, but recent events, Renji's lies, had brought the matter back to the forefront. He was concerned too; whatever he'd seen or heard on his own had him just as worried about what Ichigo was doing as she was. Admittedly they'd befriended a human who excelled in doing stupid things.

A fine example would be agreeing to a duel with a Quincy, or breaking into Soul Society.

She shook her head, trying to dispel the thoughts. She needed some fresh air, and, she noticed with a grimace, a hair brush. She was sure that Byakuya would forgive her a cup of tea, maybe he'd even let her join him, since he'd been not doing paperwork in favor of sitting in the gardens.

-------

Ichigo had been attempting to give some thought on how to explain himself if it ever came to a situation like this one, but every smart, inarguable, line that he'd imagined using seemed stupid all of a sudden. More so when staring down the blade of a Vizard's zanpakuto with others ready to draw theirs if the need should present itself.

It was all just sort of funny to the voice in his head.

"I'm not losing to him, because we're not fighting." It sounded really pathetic out loud. "We're working together, as partners."

The blade was unwavering, a constant threat. One wrong move and it would plant itself right through Ichigo's scull. "No one has been able to reason with their Hollow side, and you're telling me you have?" Hirako's black and gold eyes narrowed, his frown one that said he wasn't amused by Ichigo's little joke.

"That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, baldy. Can't you think of anything better to cover your ass?" Hiyori had walked closer, standing just a few feet from the two locked in a different sort of combat than only moments before. The others were still keeping their distance, content on watching and listening for now.

"You should listen to some of the shit that comes out of your mouth then."

"What the hell did you say to me?" Her knuckles were white on her zanpakuto's hilt, barely restraining herself from drawing it. The other blond pressed his closer to where it was tickling the little hairs on the bridge of Ichigo's nose causing it to itch, barely not touching skin. A friendly warning.

"Asshole, you're not making this any easier." Ichigo snapped back, unmindful that it was out loud at the moment, it made no difference in this situation.

_"What? It was true."_

"I never said I reasoned with him." He continued, that last little 'helpful' interjection not a strengthening point in his case. "We made a deal, a trade for his cooperation. We aren't just working together because we suddenly decided to get along. You can tell that we don't." Ichigo doubted they ever really would, but at least they'd managed to coexist fairly well for a short time. He'd always be waiting for the betrayal.

"_That's hurtful, I thought we were buddies."_

"Is that true?" Mashiro's green hair was just on the edge of his peripheral vision where she'd moved closer as well. She, at least, sounded hopeful.

"Yes it's true." Maybe there was a chance for him yet. "When I was dying in Hueco Mundo," He'd never told them about that getting stabbed through the chest thing, "we worked it out. I needed to keep fighting, I couldn't lose to the Espada so quickly. Honestly, I thought he would be the one to heal me, but it was Orihime."

"You actually got that close to her?" Now it was Hachi. "Was she alright?" They had something in common with their powers; Ichigo guessed that made them friends or something.

"She was, but I ended up having to retreat because of some trouble." He didn't need to recount his entire visit to Sombre de Los Noches. "After that we decided to come here and train, it was his idea that I get stronger as a Shinigami before I got stronger with my Hollow powers."

"So you lied to us." Hirako still held steady, listening and watching even as everyone else was taken in by what they were hearing.

"I just didn't say anything. There was no reason to tell you then." They didn't need to know what he'd done for the sake of power, it might end up being the biggest mistake of his life yet. "The point is, he and I have been working together, not fighting, not trying to kill each other for control." It sounded completely unconvincing, not at all like he had hoped.

"What kind of deal did you have to make with your Hollow to get him to agree so easily?" At least there was more curiosity in Hirako's voice this time than threat. Still Ichigo's heart was pounding, trying to break through his ribcage, even if he kept his face emotionless.

"I was dying, I was desperate, so I offered the first thing that came to mind. I told him he could set any condition he wanted."

"I always knew you were stupid." Hiyori hissed, her blade pulling free of it's sheath.

"_They're going to kill us if we don't do something soon_." It was a happy little statement. "_We should kill them first_."

"Just wait a minute." Ichigo didn't know who he was talking to, the Hollow or the Vizards. "I'm not finished yet."

The blonds exchanged glances, and Hiyori lowered her sword, but didn't re-sheath it. It was strange to see her listening so easily, but then Ichigo didn't really know how the Vizards ranked in power. He was getting an idea of who the strongest was though.

"It's not as bad as you think. We only really finished working out the details a few days ago, but it's not like I agreed to give him control of my body whenever he wants."

_"I'll explain it. Better than you, you just sound like a moron."_

"Did you have to sleep with him?" Liza asked from somewhere outside of his field of vision. Ichigo choked, eyes widening and face burning hot.

"W-what? No. NO! Nothing like that either. What's wrong with you?" Of all the things to suggest... he couldn't even make his mind comprehend such a thing. The Hollow however, he was laughing so hard that Ichigo was sure any normal person would have passed out from lack of air. "Just no!"

"It was a reasonable assumption. Hollows are beings of the most basic desires, lust among them. He could have been taking advantage of the situation in order to fill that desire." Ichigo was going to have nightmares for weeks. "Judging by your reaction the truth isn't much different." It had to be the porn talking, because the Hollow would never think of something like she was suggesting, even if he was a twisted bastard.

"It's the opposite, I agreed to have no intimate contact with anyone." The words came out in a rush, as serious as the situation was, as close as that zanpakuto was to his face he just wanted to clear up any misconceptions about his sex life. "That means anything friendly, even a pat on the back or hugging my sister. Nothing to do with sex."

"It actually does pertain to sex as well." Liza was so kind to point out.

"That's not what I meant." He growled back, face practically glowing.

_"She's right. You can't have sex with anyone."_

"You stay out of this." He warned inwardly.

"_This concerns me too, Aibou."_

"That's why you've been jumping anytime someone so much as looked at you?" Hirako kept on subject, even if the corner of his mouth had tilted up just slightly. "Not exactly the easiest deal to keep to. You could have broken it on accident at any time."

"I know that." He knew it very well, he remembered the terms set out for him. As far as he was concerned someone breathing on him could be considered a breach of terms. "Just don't think I've let my guard down against him. I don't trust him."

"_You're breaking my heart."_

"And you shouldn't. There's no way you could," Gold eyes stared into his own, examining his very soul, or that's what it felt like. "He's using you until he finds an opening, then he'll come out. Hollow's have one goal." Dominance, over everything, even if that was simply to destroy it. Ichigo didn't doubt his Hollow would like to crush everything from existence, the idea was probably fun to him.

"I won't give him one." It was a lie, he'd already offered plenty, just none had been taken advantage of so far. "I don't plan on losing to him."

"What you plan and what will actually happen can be to very different things, Ichigo." Hirako seemed disappointed, like he'd expected something better. It reminded the teen of a parent who just found out their child had made a very poor decision.

"Do you want to talk to him?" Ichigo didn't know why he offered, but he just needed them to understand, if only so they didn't run him through and end everything he'd been working for now.

"What?" That seemed to have taken the Vizard by surprise.

"Do you want to talk to the Hollow?"

"You can't just let him out on his own."

"I'm here, and there are eight of you. If anything happens you can kill us." Ichigo pointed out, turning inwards to speak to the devil he was about to unleash. "You'll play nice, right?"

_"Of course I will, I'll do my best to get along with all the other kids on the playground."_

There was silence for long moments as the Vizards all drew their blades and pointed them at the orange haired teen, all of them ready to strike at a moments notice, those who he could see eyes were already bleeding black. His stomach was tied in knots and his heart was ready to burst from exertion, making it practically impossible to draw breath, barring the fact that if he so much as twitched right now he'd end up impaling himself on sharp steel.

Hirako nodded. "Let's see him."


	8. It Could Always Be Worse

**Author's note:** So, here it is, a little later than I intended, but here nonetheless. I wanted this done on Valentines day, as a thank you to all my readers and especially my reviewers but work and other things got in the way. So it's a little late.

You've all been great, and helpful in the writing of this. Encouraging me and pointing out the little mistakes I make politely, I don't know what I'd do without you Everyone makes writing this worth it, just to know that people are enjoying it. So keep reading, and I'll keep turning chapters out.

Also, thanks to Chi Akai for pointing out a type o. Always, always appreciated.

It was a lot like when bone masks formed, pieces materializing out of nowhere until the whole was completed. It was faster though, taking only a few seconds until an impossibly white copy of Ichigo appeared. One arm draped casually over the orange haired teens shoulders, thin black lips stretched too wide in a teeth baring grin, and floating in the air as if sitting on a throne was the first anyone other than Ichigo had seen of the Hollow. It portrayed his arrogance perfectly.

"Yo."

Silence hung in the air, suffocating in its completeness. No one responded to the easy greeting, somehow more menacing than friendly if only for the fact that it came from a Hollow. Everyone waited for someone else to make the first move, clearly unsure of how to react to what they were seeing.

"What a boring bunch of friends you got here, Aibou." He looked all the Vizards up and down, bending over backwards to see those behind him. Unconsciously some had moved aside to accommodate for the new body in their midst.

"Never thought I'd have to see this ugly bastard again." Kensei muttered, the others nodding in agreement.

_"They called us ugly." _He ignored the overly fake indigence at the insult.

"What is this?" Hirako's gaze was fixed on the white and black figure.

"Physical manifestation." The albino answered, even though the question wasn't aimed at him. "I thought that would have been obvious. Guess you're not as good at thinking as you are fighting." In its own twisted way, it was a compliment, backhanded as it was.

Ichigo shot his other half a warning glare.

"Yeah, yeah, play nice." Gold eyes rolled, his tone mocking. "Don't worry; I'm not going to bite them or anything."

"You think I'd let him have control of my body?" Ichigo focused on the Vizards once more. "This was safer." He was confidant in that fact, even if letting his Hollow have his say seemed more than a bit insane and more so with each passing second.

Several shifted, ready to attack, as the white figure slid into a standing position, still using Ichigo as his arm rest. He didn't seem to take notice of the hostile actions of those around him. Remaining care free in any situation, if Ichigo hadn't seen it for himself a few times before he would have thought the other was incapable of acting accordingly.

Seconds ticked by as Ichigo waited for them to evaluate the situation. He was growing more and more uncomfortable, not that being a hair away from becoming a human pincushion was helping him keep his nerves. Of all the times he'd nearly lost his life this seemed the most menacing. It was the first time his life was in allies' hands, and he wouldn't be able to blame them if they decided to take it.

All of them were stone faced and unreadable, and he'd only seen them react to a situation like this once before. He didn't want to compare that to this, he'd nearly completely lost control then when Hiyori had pushed him like she did. He'd had all of their zanpakuto pointed at him then as well.

_"Calm down Aibou, even if they do try something we'll survive. I'll be sure of it."_

Being reassured by a mad man didn't seem helpful either.

"Why did you agree to a deal with him?" As Hirako asked Ichigo let out a breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding. "You might want to make it believable." Bright sun light was flashing off the sharp blade's edge, adding to the effect of the threat.

"Didn't he tell you we were going to die?" A dramatic sigh and shake of his head like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I don't plan on bleeding out on the floor because this idiot gets himself stabbed; it's a lame way to go. Half the shit he gets himself into is pretty lame. Besides, I don't plan on dying anytime soon, no, I don't plan on dying ever." He waved his free hand in a dismissive gesture.

"That doesn't explain why you didn't take his body for yourself then." It was Rose who spoke. "You have to have a reason." He tucked a loose lock of his long hair behind one ear so it wasn't obscuring his vision.

"I could have taken it then, or a dozen times since, but I didn't." The Hollow's grin wasn't what Ichigo would have described as a friendly one. "I don't need to. There are some things I can only have like this, so I need him to stick around for a while longer." He patted the orange haired teen on the chest in a mock friendly gesture.

"What are you going to do with Berry tan?"

That laughter was something that Ichigo had grown familiar with, but familiarity didn't stop him from getting goose bumps at the unworldly sound of it. "Do with him? Now that's a question I can't answer, but don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him." An unspoken 'yet' hung in the air after that sentence.

"We should just kill him." Hiyori spat, but it had the feel of asking permission. She wasn't going to attack on her own.

"No," Hirako lowered his sword, but didn't sheath it. His hollow mask remained, a reminder that he was still a threat. "But they can't stay here any longer."

"What, you're just going to let him run around like this?" The shorter blond screamed, stomping one sandaled foot. "He's not safe. You can't trust_it_."

"That's exactly why they can't stay here. They're a danger to us, so I'm kicking them out." Hirako gave Hiyori a stern look, one that said he wasn't backing down from this. "As much as I agree that we can't trust what the Hollow does, I do trust Ichigo."

"Are you sure it's wise to let him out on his own?" Liza had already put her sword away in favor of one of her books, though the severity of the situation had hardly lessened. "Perhaps we should keep him here to be certain."

"What he does outside of this place is none of our concern. Let the Shinigami deal with it. It's only our problem if he comes back." Ichigo knew that meant if he ever returned to this place they'd kill him. "He's their responsibility now."

Hiyori shoved her zanpakuto back in her sheath, abruptly turning and stomping off. "Fuck if I care how many humans die."

The others slowly put their weapons away, moving back to give the two some room.

"_That wasn't so bad, was it, Aibou?" _

"I'm sorry, Ichigo, but you have to leave."

"_That's not funny, knock it off." _The Hollow glared, but didn't say anything out loud. Ichigo gave him a curious glance. "_Don't give me that look, you know damn well what."_

Ichigo had no idea what had suddenly pissed off the Hollow, but he was glad that the psychopath had decided to keep it private.

"I'll walk you out." Hirako offered, gesturing the orange haired Shinigami to the entrance of the underground training facility. "I know you'll probably hate us for this, but I'm sure you understand." The kind gesture was ruined by the still looming threat of his released Hollow powers, mask hanging off the side of his head where it had been pushed aside at the end of their earlier battle.

Ichigo shook his head. "No, it's fine." He could understand, just like they'd said, he was dangerous. It was part of the price he'd had to pay for the tenuous partnership, just by agreeing there were consequences and he had known they'd catch up eventually. Not like he could ask others to trust the deal he'd made when he himself expected it to fall apart at any moment.

They walked in silence, only pausing for the teen to re-inhabit his body, meanwhile the Hollow continued to shoot him dirty looks and mumble angrily on the edge of comprehension. His hair had started to grow heavy and what looked like wet spots appeared on his shihakusho, and that's when he understood what had the Hollow so pissed.

He'd have to apologize later for it, but he didn't think there was much he could do for it at the moment. They'd talk once things had calmed down a little bit. He doubted anything would make the crazy bastard much more forgiving of him for this though.

Hirako seemed to take no notice of what was happening as they stepped past Hachi's barrier into the unpopulated warehouse district, instead looking up into the bright, cloudless sky. He smiled then, but it was lacking its usual mirth and seemed a little forced. Ichigo could understand that sentiment. "Think of it this way: at least it's not raining."

_"Like hell it isn't."_

The blond turned and walked back through the barrier, raising one hand over his shoulder. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye." Ichigo replied, taking one last look at the sky. "Yeah, at least there's that."

--------

Renji pulled the braid of his gigai over his shoulder, giving it a good tug as he thought. He didn't know where to find Ichigo, but last time he'd been looking he'd gotten lucky and the bastard had just shown back up from wherever it was he was hiding.

He didn't think he'd be that lucky this time, but there really was nothing to do about it. He'd just have to start in the most obvious places and keep working until he was turning over rocks. Then he'd at least have the excuse of getting his hands dirty when he beat the shit out of him. At least there were upsides.

Renji sighed, tossing his hair back over his shoulder. He didn't know the human world as well as he'd like, before there was Rukia to help him, even if her fashion sense was twisted beyond that of any human's. She'd at least known how the whole school thing worked, as well as other thing, just from being here the amount of time she had. Her help wasn't an option, but he wasn't doing great on his own either.

So wandering around on his own was his choice, as far as he was concerned.

He'd asked Urahara, but that hadn't gone over any better.

"_No, Kurosaki kun hasn't shown himself since before you left." _He'd said. _"I've been meaning to ask him a few things myself, tell him to stop by and see me when you find him." _Some help that had been.

At least he'd gotten a gigai, and a place to stay if he ended up needing it. That was also one place to scratch off his list to search through. Somehow he doubted Ichigo would be hiding under any of Urahara's rocks.

He'd checked the school, but no one had seen him there either. In fact some of the people who had managed to remember him asked if he'd seen Ichigo, a lot of help that had been. Even Ishida had mentioned something about it in that I'm asking but I'm not asking sort of way of his, trying to keep up the 'I hate Shinigami bit'.

That had been the day before, just after he'd arrived.

There was another obvious place to look, the most obvious actually. Ichigo's own house, but he already knew that he wouldn't find the teen there. He'd tried there before he left before, so had Rukia, and he was sure a dozen other people had since. That didn't mean he was going to avoid it outright.

To him it was just sort of stupid, and with that in mind he's sat on the bank of a canal for the last few hours thinking of better places to try next. Near where he'd last seen the idiot was a good choice, but that was a crowded area to begin with, Orihime's apartment would be one of his stops at some point. No particular reason on that last one, it just seemed like a good idea. Maybe some local places people usually spent their free time, just for the hell of it.

Giving in, he pushed himself up, brushing the few pieces of grass that still clung to him away, it wasn't all that late in the day, mid afternoon maybe, but it was Sunday and most people were out on Sundays from what he remembered. So he should check now, and maybe again later if they weren't there.

He trudged along, past houses and stores, empty fields, and other things he didn't pay any attention to. He wasn't necessarily dragging his feet, he was just not hurrying. He was here until the Shinigami in Soul Society deployed into Hueco Mundo, no need to rush looking for someone who couldn't be found.

"Hey."

He paused and looked around, unsure if he'd actually heard anything.

"Hey you, you're one of Ichi nii's friends, aren't you?" Renji recognized the girl, black hair and a red hat. Ichigo's sister.

"Yeah." What had Rukia said her name was again? He didn't remember shit like this.

"What are you doing here, I thought all of you went back?" The dark haired girl asked, no, that wasn't the right word, she demanded.

"I'm looking for Ichigo. What do you mean we all went back? Who is 'all of you'?" Maybe she was crazy, it would make sense given who her brother was, Renji didn't think Ichigo was all there himself.

"The other Shinigami." She folded her arms across her chest, giving him a 'you're stupid' look that she must have learned from her older brother. "Who else? Anyway, why are you looking for Ichi nii, didn't he go back with you?"

His jaw dropped, how did she? Had Ichigo told her? No, not even he would be dumb enough to do that, even if he was pretty dumb, maybe she could just see them. She wouldn't be the only otherwise normal human to be able to do so. "No... He didn't. He disappeared after that."

"Oh." She just shrugged it off, like it was no big deal. "I'm sure he'll show up again soon then, he usually does."

Renji nodded.

"You shouldn't bother looking for him, he'll be found when he wants to be found. He's pretty stubborn like that." She slumped her shoulders, putting on a show of good natured dramatics, rolling her eyes at her absent brother.

"I figured as much, but I was still going to look for him." At least he didn't actually have to bother going to his house to look for him, that was a trip canceled. Tonight he just wanted to eat something and find a place to sleep, Urahara's place again was out of the question. Some things he could only take so much of. "If you see him tell him I was looking for him. My name's Renji."

"I'm Karin." He about smacked himself in the head for not remembering that, it wasn't like it was hard. "I'll tell him when I see him again, though you'll probably see him first." She began to walk off, not bothering with any farewells or anything, she was just as manner-less as her older brother. No one could miss the fact that those two were related, as far as Renji was concerned. "Actually," She stopped and turned back to him. "Yuzu and Goat Face have been worried about Rukia. Why don't you come to lunch and tell them she's okay so they'll shut up."

Oh yeah, just like her brother. "Sure, why not." Couldn't even invite him over properly, funny kid. "Rukia went on about how good the food was at this place anyway, might as well see if she was right."

Okay, so he hadn't gotten out of it, at least it was less of a chore if he was getting a free meal out of it, and didn't have to do any actual work.

Renji wasn't sure what he was expecting when he arrived at the Kurosaki household, but whatever it was it wasn't what he got.

"I made too much again." The other sister, what's her name, was on the verge of tears, sniffling. "I f-forgot Ichi nii wasn't here."

"Don't cry Yuzu, I'll eat twice as much." Ichigo's father, the one Karin had called 'Goat Face' was practically yelling his pronouncement. Pausing only a fraction of a second when the door opened and his other daughter walked in. "Karin will help too! You've made just the right amount, don't you worry!"

"No, I won't, and you'll keep your greedy hands off the extra portion. We have a guest." She took everything in stride, not even raising her voice or looking concerned over the odd situation.

Renji just stared in confusion, blinking a few times to be sure he wasn't hallucinating. Grown men shouldn't act like that, he was pretty sure. Scratch that, he was a hundred percent sure.

"OH! Who's this? A friend? A _boy_friend?" Was he crying? Renji hoped not, he also hoped that was meant to be a joke, a really twisted joke. "My little girl is growing up so fast! You can call me father, welcome to the family." As he stepped forward arms spread as if to give Renji a hug the red haired Shinigami stepped back trying to stay out of reach.

"It's not like that you stupid old man. This is one of Ichi nii's friends, and a friend of Rukia's." Karin snapped, scolding her father. "Leave him alone and act your age."

"Oh, so that's the case. Well you're welcome anyway as part of our family. Just as Rukia was." He lunged forward, still intent on the hug, Renji sidestepped, grimacing as Ichigo's father ran into the wall instead. "Well done." Despite holding his face where it had made friends with the white plaster and wood, he seemed proud of Renji's dodging. "Worthy to be one of us."

Karin sighed and shook her head. "Just leave him alone already. You want to scare him off?" She gestured for Renji to follow her, he gladly stepped around the older Kurosaki and into more open space so he could easily escape any further insanity that might come his way. Rukia hadn't been kidding about these people. "If I know Yuzu, dinner will be done soon. You can just sit anywhere until then."

"Just a few more minutes." Yuzu chimed in, the earlier tears gone now that she no longer had to worry over extra food. She twisted her apron between little hands, wooden spoon tightly gripped. "I hope you're okay with gyoza?"

"Sounds good." Renji wasn't picky, and it did sound good, but he didn't know if he'd survive here much longer.

As if reading him Karin stepped forward once more. "Why don't you wait in Ichi nii's room." She lowered her voice to a conspiratorial whisper, one that everyone else could still clearly hear. "It's safer for you in there."

He nodded, agreeing with her completely. "I think I will, thanks."

He'd never been so glad to get away from a group of people before in his life. With all that crazy he could understand how Ichigo glowered all the time, his dad was fucking nuts. Dangerous even. Somehow having dodged that one hug felt like dodging a certain death.

Once he reached the top of the stairs the door he needed was easy to spot. A sign hung from one with the number 15 on it, one five, ichi go. Bad pun though it was, it was kind of suiting, better than the strawberry he'd half expected to see decorating it. He noted he'd never entered Ichigo's room the right way before. The ceiling light was much more interesting.

The inside was like what he remembered, simple desk, bed, no decorations to really speak much of. Simply and boring. Considering how much time Ichigo had been spending here the last couple of months it was fitting that this place didn't feel lived in. It was clean however, probably the work of his sister, Yuzu.

Renji pulled out the chair at the small desk, flipping it around to sit on it so he was straddling the backrest, when he froze.

Well fuck, if it wasn't the devil himself? Maybe luck was on his side after all, approval to go to the human world, free meal, and now Ichigo's reiatsu just pops back into being without him even having to try. He'd have to play out to the higher ups about negotiating with Ichigo about working with them, but he pretty much had a vacation to look forward to now.

Despite the crazy he'd just had to endure, and all the crazy shit he'd just lived through in Soul Society, maybe things were going his way.

-----

_"Hey, Aibou."_

"What?" Ichigo replied tiredly, not really wanting to deal with talking to the Hollow anymore today. Thankfully he'd retreated back into the inner world, mostly. He was rubbing at Ichigo's shoulders again, what he could only assume was a comforting sort of gesture to help him cheer up, probably to get the rain to let up.

_"We've got a visitor."_ If the Hollow hadn't been pleased before he sounded down right pissed now. _"That Shinigami is at our house."_

Ichigo didn't bother correcting the 'our house' part, since it would never be home to the Hollow despite his living as part of Ichigo. "What Shinigami?" He hadn't even noticed, but now he was paying attention, reaching out to feel for who it was. They should all be back in Soul Society right about now, getting ready for war. "Damn it. It's Renji."

"_Yeah, that one._" He got the impression of the name being unimportant. "_We should get rid of him."_

He had an idea of what the other meant by get rid of, and not necessarily agreeing with that particular method he did agree that any Shinigami shouldn't be around. The Vizards were closest to being what he was and they didn't want him around, the Shinigami wouldn't be much better. Friend or no friend. "I'll tell him off."

"_He probably wants to pick another fight with us."_ It seems that the run in with Renji before was still pretty fresh in the others mind, with everything that was going on Ichigo had all but forgotten about it. Not that it really mattered, but he didn't want to deal with the questions again.

"I'll just kick his ass before I tell him to get lost, if that's the case." He reassured, the invisible fingers on his back climbing up his neck and rubbing at his scalp. It sent a tingling sensation down his spine, having someone's fingers in his hair, all things considered. He'd somewhat hoped that the whole touching him thing was a one time only sort of deal, but it didn't seem the little voice in his head had quite had his fill of driving him crazy yet.

With the deal, and the feeling nothing but getting beaten to shit for a while, this really was going to drive him right up the wall. That and it only served to remind him that he was going to have to be extra careful once he got home, of his sisters and especially his dad. A fatherly embrace was the last thing on the list of things he needed to make his day better.

"_Good."_ That seemed to be what he'd wanted to hear, because he fell silent again, just continuing on as before in his creepily pseudo kind manner. Ichigo didn't know if this was cleverly designed torture, but he was assuming it was.

Ichigo closed his eyes for a moment, fighting back a headache he felt building stronger and stronger behind his temples. First he'd worry about what the hell Renji was doing here, then he'd worry about why the Hollow was being so buddy-buddy all of a sudden.


	9. Shake Until Not Stupid

**Author's note: **Hey everyone. Guess what, I'm alive... sort of.

So first off, to apologize to everyone for the lack of updates. Live has been a living hell as usual. What with work and cons and getting horribly sick and deciding to date someone who lives four hours away... what can I say I've been busy as all hell and trying to catch up with life. Luckily I've managed to avoid the hospital if not necessarily the doctors office.

But I give you chapter nine, probably not what you expected, but maybe, hopefully, you'll enjoy it. And of course everyone's thoughts on the chapter are welcome. I like to know what people like and don't like and of course pointing out mistakes is good because I know I screw up.

Thanks to all the reviewers who encouraged me to say fuck you to real life and get back to writing. I love you all. Hope you enjoy this chapter and if you don't well get back to reviewing and tell me either way.

Ichigo didn't feel the need to sneak into his own home. He had been MIA for the last few weeks and knew that would get him all sorts of questions but this would be the best opportunity for him to show that he was a different person now. First impressions last.

Already having been resigned to this, he threw open the front door and made a beeline for the stairs.

"Ichi nii?" Yuzu dropped the cooking ladle she'd been holding. "You're ho-"

"Not now." He snapped, inwardly cringing at talking to her that way, but not slowing or pausing.

"Hey don't talk to her like that." Karin was quick to move to her sisters defense, but Ichigo stomped up the stairs as if she hadn't spoke. "Get back here you big jerk!"

It didn't even register that his father had been standing quietly in the background during that little exchange.

"_Not bad, you didn't even have to do any fancy foot work._" The Hollow sounded pleased by that little exchange. "_Now to deal with the more annoying problem."_

Said problem was waiting for him in his room, sitting in his chair as relaxed as if he had every right to be there. Not even flinching at the sound of the door slamming open with enough force to send the knob through the plaster wall. "Renji."

"Don't you know it's rude to keep a guest waiting?" He tossed his single red braid over his shoulder as he stood, looking Ichigo up and down. "Now that's funny, I didn't expect you to be as dumb as you look, but I guess I was wrong."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Ichigo's hands balled into fists at his sides, resisting the urge to grab the collar of Renji's shirt and shake some of the stupid out of him.

"You're one hell of a bad liar, you know. You go on about how you've got everything under control and that you can handle yourself, but the only person you've got fooled is yourself." One of the tattooed eyebrows was twitching in annoyance, and already his voice was rising in anger.

"_Aibou, we should kill him now." _It wasn't entirely disagreeable at this point, Ichigo didn't like where the conversation was going and he felt he should shut up the redhead one way or another.

"You know when I said before you practically feel like one of the Arrancar?" He was ready for the resulting punch this time and stepped back out of arms reach. "I take it back, you DO feel like one of them, hell you _smell_ like one of them."

"What the hell do you know? I'm nothing like them." Ichigo managed not to yell, but his voice was getting louder as he spoke.

"Yeah, right, step outside of that body and prove to me you aren't one of them." Renji stepped closer again, threateningly. "But what will it be, a mask or will you try and eat my soul?"

"Fuck you, I don't eat souls, especially not one as weak as yours. Can't even handle one of the lower ranked Espada, with help."

"_But doesn't he look tasty Aibou?" _The Hollow whispered, even if Ichigo was the only one who could hear him. "_Don't you want to give it a try, just once. No one would know, there'd be no proof that you did it, and it would be the end of this little problem."_

"I'm not a monster." Ichigo spat back. "Just because we have a deal doesn't make me like you."

"_I'm a part of you, and I _am_ a monster." _Suddenly there was an empty feeling in the pit of Ichigo's stomach, like being hungry only more painful, lonely. It was cold, like when you're come in from the snow and even the touch of another person burns your skin, so cold he expected to see his breath in the air. "_Can you feel it, like fire beneath his skin, his soul isn't that weak."_

"I'm... not..." Ichigo protested, his arms wrapping around him to keep in what little body heat remained. He was so hungry, so very empty, and Renji... well he was only causing trouble anyway, picking fights and putting his nose where it didn't belong.

"Oi, are you okay?" The anger dropped from Renji's voice as Ichigo's knees hit the floor, doubled over in an effort to contain himself. "Ichigo, damn it. You can't be one of them! I don't want to have to kill you."

The concern in the shinigami's voice cut through the haze in his mind, Renji was his friend, not just something to fill the growing void in him. Renji was an asshole but he cared about the people around him. Ichigo fought to remind himself of this, this was the person he'd have to trust to take care of Rukia once everything was over, because he'd given up his right to do so already.

He forced the pain aside, forced the Hollow to a back corner of his mind until the horrible feeling subsided. It left him gasping for breath with laughter echoing just on the edge of his hearing. "I'm fine." He forced himself to stand again, angry that he could be controlled like that. It just reminded him that he couldn't trust the Hollow to keep his end of the bargain.

"You're not fine. You're fighting a losing battle." The hard edge had returned to Renji's voice but the concern was still there. "You're going to lose your mind and start killing the people you're trying to protect, that's what Hollows do."

"I'm not a Hollow." Ichigo reminded Renji sternly; he was only half, and that half wasn't in control. "I'm still a shinigami." That part of him hadn't died yet. "And I'm not going to lose." The last part was thought to himself, and partially to his other half still laughing about his little display.

"Arrancar aren't Hollows either, so should I give them a chance to redeem themselves?" The response was icy. "Maybe I'll just head back into Hueco Mundo and ask if we can't all be friends, because they're only half Hollow so they can't be all bad."

"Don't be stupid, we have to kill them."

"Then why don't I just kill you too?!" Renji practically screamed, his frustration and anger finally beyond what he could contain. "You're just like them now, aren't you! If they can't play nice when asked how the hell can I expect you to? What makes you think you're stronger than them and can ignore the part of you that wants to fight, wants to kill and eat others?"

There was a loud crack as Ichigo's fist connected with the side of Renji's face, breaking the cheek bone and possibly one of Ichigo's fingers, but Renji hadn't tried to dodge it or block it this time, holding his gaze firm as his cheek split and bled under the force.

"Hit a nerve, did I?" The redheaded shinigami shoved Ichigo away from him. "I'm right and you know it. I just want to know one thing, how'd this happen? How'd you become one of them?"

"I'm not one of them." Ichigo insisted once more, but the anger had all but gone from his voice.

"_Aibou..."_ The Hollow was less than pleased though, wanting to kill. Ichigo could understand the logic in removing Renji but he didn't understand the need his counterpart felt. "_You know we can't trust him, he's not your friend, he said he should kill us already."_ Invisible hands took him by the shoulders, giving him a firm shake. "_I'm the only one you can trust now."_

"Ichigo, I may be dumb, but I'm not stupid." Renji folded his arms over his chest. "Anyone in a hundred miles can read your reiatsu and I'm surprised no one's on their way to kill you now."

"It's different, even if it feels the same as them to you it's different." He pushed his way past the other man to go and sit on his bed. "I don't know if they're anything like shinigami, with two halves to their souls, one that they can talk to. You know, their zanpakuto." He remembered when it had been that simple, talking to the old man, working with him to win a fight. "Maybe they're fighting a constant battle to keep the rational part of their mind at bay."

It was a funny thought, to imagine his situation reversed, having a madman on the loose while a sane one was fighting to take over.

"_Watch who you're insulting there."_

"What the hell are you talking about?" Renji had reseated himself in the chair.

"Well, I don't really understand it all myself, but my Shinigami powers are my Hollow powers." That didn't make sense, but he didn't know how else to put it. "I can't have one without the other, they're... part of each other and whichever part is the strongest is in control."

"You didn't have the Hollow side before, how can it be part of being a Shinigami? That's like saying that I have a Hollow inside of me too, and so does every Shinigami." Renji seemed more uneasy than angry at the idea.

"Well, you sort of do. When a person dies, and they have high reiatsu can't they become a Shinigami?"

"Yeah, but-"

"And can't that same person become a Hollow if their loneliness and sorrow are strong enough?"

"Yes."

"Then both were a part of them from the start, it's just a matter of what wins. I'll bet that some of the Hollows that are slain and sent to Soul Society become Shinigami one day." It was funny hearing these words come out of his own mouth, he'd never really thought about it before now, but it was the only thing with what he knew that made sense.

"_Oho, sounding smart there Aibou, but it doesn't work that way. Just because you can become a monster doesn't mean you can be a saint. But any saint can become a monster."_

"That make sense." Renji said slowly, thinking it over. "But wouldn't that mean that any of the Shinigami could suddenly turn?" The thought obviously terrified the redhead. "What if someone like Yamaji turned?"

"It doesn't really work that way. I think something has to happen to you to make the Hollow wake up." If it wasn't that way wouldn't it have already happened to a lot of Shinigami in Soul Society, wouldn't they be more careful about how much power people gained and be ready to kill their own?

"You keep talking about it's not you, like it's more than just keeping from losing your mind." Renji pointed out.

"Well yeah, Zangetsu, my zanpakuto, became part of my Hollow half. He's been a pain in the ass ever since." Ichigo could feel the nasty look the Hollow was giving him at that last remark,not that he was particularly pleased about playing nice like this in the first place. He was still calling for Renji's blood.

"That old man, you mean he's gone? But... was the Hollow part of him then, that's what you said right, that the Shinigami part and the Hollow part are the same? Then what woke it up?" Renji was dumbfounded, looking like his head would explode if he tried any harder to think.

Ichigo furrowed his brows, trying to think what made it happen... Then he remembered. "You know when we fought the first time, when you came to take Rukia back and Byakuya cut me up? I got my own powers after that, but I almost turned into a Hollow instead of a Shinigami, I had a mask and everything." He'd never really thought to trace it back to his underground training to become a Shinigami, never really thought he'd been this way from the start.

He wondered if Urahara knew, or if he did it on purpose. But he didn't seem the type to intentionally ruin someone's life.

"WHAT? You did? But... no one almost turns into a Hollow when they find out they can be a Shinigami. We just..." Renji made a broad sweeping gesture. "Practiced using our reiatsu, like making glowing balls float over our hands and stuff, and eventually our Zanpakuto spoke to us." That's how it had been with him and Rukia, and all the others he'd asked about it when in the academy.

"Maybe it was because I was still alive?" Ichigo didn't know either, and really there was no way for him to find out. He'd never thought about how other's got their Shinigami powers, but he supposed now that they couldn't have all gone through the same thing he had.

"Damn it Ichigo." Renji ran his hand over his hair and down the braid as he tried to process the idea. "Damn it. So, then what, you're going to keep fighting that evil monster inside of you forever, or do you just need to have your powers cut off from you or what?"

"_Don't even think about it. If you try and get rid of me, I'll know, and it's as good as breaking the contract. I'll end things before you can."_ A promise that he knew would be kept, if he decided to betray the Hollow. Tempting still since he knew the Hollow would betray him one day anyway.

"I can't do that." Ichigo shook his head. "Though right now it's nothing to worry about, I've got it all handled."

"How am I supposed to believe that? Everyone else with Hollow in them is running around eating souls and picking fights with Shinigami." The Vizards weren't eating souls that he knew of, but they didn't much like Shinigami either.

"_I haven't eaten anyone's soul yet."_ Renji jumped to his feet at the sound of the twisted voice, leaving his gigai slumped over in the chair. "_But you might change my mind if you keep talking about it like that."_

"Who said you could come out?" Ichigo growled at the white figure that materialized beside him on the bed, who was leaning over and using Ichigo's shoulder as a pillow while it's black and gold eyes stared up at the redhead. "I thought I didn't have to keep you locked up anymore."

"_What's the big deal Aibou?_ _You've already told him all about me, why not just introduce me to him already._" Black lips spread into a sly grin as he reached over to pick a piece of imaginary lint from the front of Ichigo's t-shirt. "_Or, are you shy? Don't tell me you're embarrassed having me around, not after we've grown so close."_

"W-what the hell is this?" Renji stuttered, Zabimaru half drawn from it's sheath. "Get away from him." He reached out to grab Ichigo and pull him off the bed, but the teen yanked back violently as if the touch would burn.

"Don't do that." He leveled a glare at Renji as the Hollow wrapped it's arms around his shoulders and grinned wickedly up at the Shinigami. "Don't touch me."

Renji was at a loss for words, unable to believe what was happening.

"_You heard him, don't touch. You don't want him to get in trouble do you?" _The Hollow's voice was not made for attempts at sounding innocent. "_I get horribly jealous."_

Ichigo ignored the teasing, hoping Renji would do the same rather than react with violence as he was almost certain he would. "We have a deal, to work together as long as I don't touch anyone. I can still fight, but that's it, anything else and the contract is pretty much over." He explained it calmly and simply, hoping it would be enough to keep things from blowing up in his face.

"You made a deal with this... thing, and you expect it to keep to the terms? How do you know it won't turn on you at any second?"

"I don't." Ichigo admitted. "But I don't have a choice, it's the only way to win. If we sit and wait for Soul Society to go up in arms and storm Hueco Mundo it'll be too late. I'm not sure that it isn't now."

"_Why would I betray him?" _The inverted colors and strange voice gave Renji chills. "_Things are so many more interesting the way they are now. Especially since this game is by my rules."_

_"_You're a sick-" Renji stopped at a knock on the door, the argument having made both of them forget there were other people in the house.

"Ichi nii, Renji san, it's time to eat." Yuzu's voice was small but firm, but the hurt from the way Ichigo had acted earlier had yet to disappear.

"We'll be down in a minute." Ichigo called back, glancing at the Redhead and then turning a stern look to the Hollow.

"_I always get to miss out on family time, and with so many tasty looking things all gathered around too." _His voice faded away as his form faded from view.

"Just trust me for now."

Renji hesitated but gave a nod. "Don't think I'm going to just pack up and head back to Soul Society though."

--  
_  
_Her plan was flawless, Orihime was sure. After all, her powers were supposed to be able to defy even God, then she could easily do this. Hopefully.

She'd been practicing, and going over in her mind just how things would go. She wasn't so sure how it would work on a real person, or on an Arrancar, but it couldn't be that much different that what she'd done up until now. If she was reversing time for things, making it so events never happened and healing wounds, even bringing the dead back to life, then destroying Aizen's plans shouldn't be too hard. He'd shown her everything she needed to know, and with how she'd been training with Tsubaki during the endless hours locked inside this room, she could defend herself from the Arrancar as well.

She didn't want to kill them; it wasn't their fault that their spirits had suffered and become Hollows, and it was Aizen's fault after that that they'd become Arrancar. She'd just reject them back to being normal souls, and free them from their suffering. They had to be so lonely like this, and she'd seen the way they act desperate for attention, for someone to hold them in high regards. Maybe she could be the one to save them.

Her friends had come and fought for her, sacrificing themselves to save just one person. Now it was her turn to act, even if she had to sacrifice herself she would do everything she could to save them all. She was the only one who could do it, the only one close enough and underestimated enough to get past Aizen's defenses and stop this disaster.

She'd wait just a little bit longer though, maybe a few more days. She wanted to be sure her courage wouldn't give out on her when she needed it the most. And she needed it now more than ever.

Renji stared at the ceiling, listening to Ichigo's even breathing from the bed. After their earlier conversation it was hard to sleep comfortably in the same room, even if he was on the floor and had his Zanpakuto within arms reach. Ichigo was his friend, and even when they'd first met and been enemies they'd been friends, so he wanted to trust him but something was nagging away at the back of his mind that just wouldn't let him be.

It made sense why he'd left Rukia, not that it didn't piss Renji off, but Ichigo was only doing what he could to protect all of them. It must have hit him hard watching so many people nearly die. It had hit Renji pretty hard too, knowing that even fighting with all that he was he hadn't stood a chance. He couldn't say that in the same position he wouldn't have done the same thing, even if it did hurt someone he cared about deeply.

But Ichigo should tell Rukia, since he'd made Renji promise not too. It was the least he could to, explain why their friendship was never going to be the same again. She'd made sacrifices before, if anyone would get it she would. This didn't mean they couldn't be friends anymore, the three of them, there would always be that shadow of doubt, but they'd manage.

With a sigh he rolled over, back to the bed, trying desperately to fall asleep. Maybe after they'd kicked Aizen's ass they could find a way to fix Ichigo, Soul Society had some smart people in it, and if they could make fake bodies, Hollow tracking systems and artificial souls they could seal away a Hollow and end one person's torment. He'd find some way to trick Rukia into looking into it for him while he helped Ichigo out, if she could get away from the mountain of paperwork Byakuya had her doing.

He heard some rustling from the bed beside him and rolled back over onto his back, hand going for Zabimaru. It wasn't there.

"Ichigo?" He called out, his voice a little louder than a whisper, not wanting to wake Ichigo if he was just moving around in his sleep. He knew he was more than a little paranoid right now.

"_He's asleep, and won't be waking up until morning. A growing boy needs his rest you know." _A pale white face loomed over him and the room seemed darker than it was before, the moonlight from the window somehow muted.

"You bastard, I knew you couldn't be trusted." He started inching away, trying to put enough room between them that he could sit up, but the Hollow moved with him. It climbed over him, straddling his chest, long white fingers splayed out over where his heart was.

"_You're nervous. Do I make you uneasy?" _Golden eyes seemed to glow in the darkness, warm breath washing over Renji's face as the pale form leaned in closer still. "_Or maybe you're jealous that I have Ichigo all to myself? Tell me, what is he to you, a friend, or maybe something more? Just how much do you care for him?"_

"Get off of me you son of a bitch." Renji struggled to throw the Hollow off but it was like his strength was being eaten away. "You think you're going to scare me just by putting on a stupid little show? Ichigo won't play nice with you when he finds out about this shit."

"_I'm not too worried about that. You see, no one's going to tell him, just like no one's going to get in my way." _Black fingernails traced down one of Renji's cheeks, lightly as if a caress. "_Ichigo is going to learn what it's like to be all alone, with only the one person you hate more than anything, when your world is nothing but a single person and you can only imagine what the ouside is like._" He seemed delighted by the idea, though a glint of something more human shown in his eyes, something like desperation.

"How is that going to work with me around. Sure I can't hang all over him like you do, I can't even shake his hand, but he'd rather talk to me than you. He'll just ignore you for people he gives a damn about, me, Rukia, Orihime, even that Quincy." Renji prodded him, hoping to get him angry so that he'd say something that made sense instead of playing this stupid game.

"_Hmmm, you really think so? Well that just settles it then."_ His tone remained light hearted, like this was all some game but anger sparked in those evil eyes, and maybe something like jealousy, but that didn't make sense.

It was getting so hard to even think. "What are you doing?" The room grew even darker as Renji could only focus on that horrifying grin and the bone chilling cold that seemed to be suffocating him.


	10. Don't Touch Me

_  
_Kurosaki Isshin knew where his son had been hiding, and he had a good guess why. Urahara Kisuke had been feeding him information, and there wasn't anything that man didn't know about what was going on in their town. He'd been kept informed on the trip to Hueco Mundo and how Ichigo and his friends were recovering, and knew his son was at least in capable hands when it came to the Vizards. That would have to do for now.

What neither of them liked, and could do nothing about without drawing suspicion and causing trouble with Soul Society, was that someone else was keeping a close eye on things as well. They knew Aizen had his hand in there somewhere but where and how wasn't completely clear. No, the problem was the watcher in Soul Society. They couldn't cut off their data feed, because it would alert them to their awareness of it and might cause a bigger mess, all they could do was control what information got through.

They just didn't know what information already had been received.

It had been missed at first, because in situations like the one they were in Soul Society kept a close eye on the area and it didn't come across as weird to have a general surveillance net. It might have been too little too late to discover that this net was taking detailed information on all four of the children who'd gone into Soul Society after Rukia, monitoring each of them as closely as if they were spread open on an examination table.

There was little he could do without interfering directly, and that would expose him not only to Ichigo but to Soul Society as well.

So he waited, and he trusted in his son to do what was right and have the strength to carry the responsibility of his fate. Knowing that what he had become would one day have Ichigo unwillingly made an enemy of Soul Society like the Vizards before him. All he could do at this point was stand back and watch, continuing on in his role as father and try to be the mentor he knew his son deserved.

Isshin hadn't expected Ichigo to return home so soon, and it would have been a lie to say he wasn't surprised by suddenly feeling Ichigo's reiatsu headed to their clinic rather than Urahara's shop for a return visit to Hueco Mundo. It wasn't an unpleasant surprise, and for the first time in a little while a good mood settled over him, teasing his daughters more, and even making a playful joke about Karin and the Shinigami she'd dragged home with her.

The redhead was one he recognized, a friend of Ichigo's who'd fought side by side with his son before. He'd even risked his life to go into Hueco Mundo for Inoue. He trusted the boy, and trusted that even with the obvious change in what Ichigo was he would stand by his side as a friend.

Humming to himself happily, he went about his evening activities around the house as usual, raining down his fatherly love on his daughters. Ichigo would be walking in the front door any moment, and for a brief time they could be a happy family again, even if it might only be for a few more days, maybe a couple of weeks, before he had to make him disappear under the radar.

The door swung open, and a very angry teenager stormed into the house. The aura around him wasn't just anger though, it was fear, Ichigo was trying to hide something he thought even normal people would notice. So Isshin stepped back to watch how things would turn out.

Yuzu was the first to say something, the one to miss her brother the most. "Ichi nii? You're ho-"

"Not now." Ichigo was rushing up the stairs, running away before they could find out whatever secret he was hiding.

"Hey! Don't talk to her like that. Get back here you big jerk!" Karin jumped in to defend her sister, to try and call her brother out and get him to be the brother she knew so well. It didn't work.

Instead he was stuck with one fuming and ranting daughter and one crying.

"Now, don't cry. Ichigo just needs to have Daddy show him some love, and that mean will die right out of him." He jumped, throwing his arms up in preparation for the big fatherly hug he knew his Yuzu needed. "Daddy's got enough love for everyone, I'll hug all the tears out of you!"

"You leave her alone." Karin punched him upside the head, and he fell over, giving her the victory. He tried not to smile as he jumped back to his feet, clutching the side of his face. "I have some for you too, enough for my precious children to know that they're cared for for all of their lives and beyond." He reached after them, but let Karin pick up the ladle and put an arm around Yuzu to lead her back to the kitchen and calm her down.

As much as he loved his daughters he knew they understood each other better than he understood them. Girls were different creatures and didn't thrive off of tough love like boys did.

So as tears streamed down his face, a trick he'd mastered years ago when joking with Masaki, he regretted that this was all he could do for his children, and had to let them figure things out on their own. He wasn't in the position to help them with this, so he'd just have to pray that those that could help them would.

-------

Healing from his fight with Ichigo had taken a lot longer than it should have. Grimmjow had spent the better part of the first week being patched up, and the next week being cut open again. Szayel Aporro sure knew what he was doing as a doctor, but had a tendency to wander away from the task at hand, and between the fist fights that followed all that second week and only being allowed to be treated directly by the Octava... Well, Grimmjow hoped he never got more than a scraped knee ever again.

That was the worst of it though, he'd been put in the Octava's care, given a hard scolding and turned loose. All the real punishment had been his own doing. He was pissed, no he was fuckin' pissed. Killing the Cuatra didn't seem so bad of an idea right about now, but if he went an did that he'd be sure to really get it. Aizen didn't like people messing with his pets.

So he was picking fights with others, people he could get away with picking fights with. There weren't many who could even get his blood flowing when they stood up to him, so he went after groups. There were plenty of weaker Arrancar to kick around, and he did a lot of it. They just happened to learn fast, and came in big groups after the first couple of rounds.

He scuffed his black boot against the monotonous white hallway floor. Maybe he'd tell Aizen 'sama' that if he threw enough weaklings in all at once he could just overwhelm the opposition. If half a dozen Fraccione could give him a black eye before he beat them into the ground, and a dozen could work him into a sweat just imagine what a couple hundred could do. There were enough useless Hollows around anyway.

It pissed him off more that Aizen didn't give a rat's ass what he did or where he went even after he kidnapped his little doll and healed Ichigo. He could go and visit the useless bitch and have tea with her if he wanted, and their lord wouldn't say anything. No, Tousen had got mad again, and for a minute he thought he might lose another arm, but what would be the point when they could just heal it back outta nowhere?

This place didn't make any sense, what the hell were the people in charge on? Why the hell were they even in charge? Fuckin' stupid, all of it. Sure Aizen was strong, sure he wasn't afraid of nothin', but that didn't mean he wasn't running the whole organization into the ground.

Grimmjow pulled his fist from his pocket and slammed it into a wall, cracks spider-webbing out before it gave way and a hole appeared. They weren't going to fight, they were just going to sit and wait, and he knew Ichigo was off getting stronger again. Well like hell he'd lose, he'd been training and fighting and killing, he was more than ready to take on Ichigo and that crazy bastard in his head. What was more, he wasn't going to let that green eyed emo bitch stop him again, even if he had to pause and kill him first he was going to have his fight and enjoy it. Fuck Aizen, fuck taking over Soul Society and killin' God. He'd never fought God, and with all those guards he had to be a weakling with more responsibility than he knew what to do with.

A thought struck him, spreading a grin over his face. It had worked last time, maybe it would work again. He'd steal the little bitch and take her and wave her in front of Ichigo's nose to get the fight good and going in him. Then, when he was done kicking one ass plenty more would have shown up so he could keep on fightin'. He'd fight his way right up the ladder too, see how many Espada he could take out before he got killed. Hell, he'd been working hard, maybe he'd blow right through them and get to take on Aizen himself. Wouldn't that be a laugh, killing his enemies enemy for them, maybe they'd make him a king.

It wasn't a half bad thought, he could work with the Shinigami if they decided to treat him right. The took care of their own, he'd even seen 'em going out of their way for the crazy humans who'd busted in here to try and free their friend.

It was something to think about, maybe he'd just beat Ichigo almost to death, then drag him outta here and join there side, that way when Ichigo got better he could kick his ass again. Sounded like fun.

-------

Ichigo woke up some time just before noon, right when the sun was as just the correct height to be right in his eyes. He tried rolling over one direction first, then another, getting comfortable again, but a nagging voice and the occasional poke to his ribs mad him sit up.

"Fine, I get it, I'm awake." He tossed his pillow, but the only thing it hit was the far wall. "Keep your hands off me."

Appearing sitting on the edge of the bed, the Hollow had it's legs folded and his head propped up in his hands. "_Is that any way to say good morning?"_ His bad mood hadn't worn off from the day before and Ichigo found he was sorely tempted to strangle the psychopath. "_I just thought I'd let you know your little friend is gone."_

That got Ichigo's attention. He looked to where Renji should have been sleeping on the floor but there was only a messy and very empty futon. "When the hell did he leave?"

"_Some time late last night. You were asleep." _The Hollow seemed bored, not really caring about the situation.

"Why didn't he tell me he was leaving, why didn't you tell me?" Ichigo grabbed the front of the Hollow's pajama's colors inverted from his own. "Do you know where he went?"

"_I didn't think it was important, you were so sure he could be trusted after all." _He scowled, scratching at his white hair, making it even more dishevelled. "_I'll bet he went to go tell everyone we're about to go on a killing spree, eating every soul that gets close." _The scowl turned into a smirk at the thought. "_Maybe we should, just to spite him."_

"Shut up." Ichigo rolled out of bed and started throwing on clean clothes. "We're leaving."

"_Don't tell me you plan on looking for him? If he went back to tattle on us it's already too late."_

_"_I know that." Ichigo snapped back, throwing his pajama shirt at the Hollow's infuriating face. "Which is why we are leaving."

"_Now you're thinking __Aibouu__. If we stay here who knows how long it will be before they decide we're not on their side anymore."_ Standing he put his hands on Ichigo's shoulder's, a very rare serious look crossing his face as their eyes met. "_I won't let those pretend friends of yours kill us, as long as you don't forget your part of the bargain."_ And despite knowing that the Hollow was an evil, manipulative bastard, Ichigo somehow felt that he was being honest at least in this one thing.

"Come on, let's get going." Throwing some clothes into a bag he wondered if taking his body along would be worth it.

-------

"Are you just going to leave that there?" A too familiar voice asked, causing Ichigo too look up from where he was hiding his own body in a back alley. Urahara Kisuke stood at the mouth of the alley, familiar form silhouetted in the bright afternoon sun.

"I thought you said you had us hidden." Ichigo hissed, admonishing the Hollow that was supposed to be masking their reiatsu.

"_I do __Aibou__, but no one's perfect. Look at you you can't even think of playing a game of hide and go see with anyone who knows how to look for reiatsu." _He would have thought the Hollow was joking if it weren't for the obvious frustration in his own voice. It seemed that his counterpart was little better at hiding than he was.

"Oh you're very well hidden, but you should have thought about that before I started following you." Urahara covered the smile on his lips with the plane paper fan he carried. "But dumping your body here, or should I call it a corpse now that you're done with it, dumping it here seems unsanitary. If you leave it alone long enough it will rot, and stink up this whole area if someone doesn't find it fast enough."

"I'm not dumping it, I'm just hiding it for a little while." Ichigo countered, trying to cover for himself. He figured the best way to avoid people would be to avoid most of the population and disappear. Humans couldn't touch him without a body, not normal ones anyway.

Urahara shook his head. "Hiding it in a pile of garbage is bound to get it discovered by someone pretty quickly. The police will be swarming the area, they'll call your family to identify the body and it'll just be a horrible mess." The way he said it, because Ichigo had already considered that the police would find it and he'd be declared dead, made it seem like he was being a real asshole. "If you're missing you can always come back, and there's always hope for your family."

"I'm not running away." Ichigo's eye twitched as he was spoken right over.

"You could always put it somewhere safe, you know, preserve it in case you ever need it again. Coming across gigai that aren't handed to you by Soul Society is hard, and if you don't occupy a body it dies." Urahara gave him a stern look. "You already died once, remember. This corpse isn't connected to you anymore."

Unconsciously a hand came up to where the chain had been cut on his chest. There were only black and white shihakushou there now, but he remembered how weird it had felt at first to be dead. Even if it wasn't permanent. Well, he supposed it was with the way it was being put to him now. "What do you suggest then, I freeze it? I don't really have a freezer people won't be getting into."

"No, no, no. That's no good, freezer burn is unpleasant. There are much better options." He waved his hand vaguely. "Bring that, I'll show you."

_"We shouldn't trust him, after all look what happened with the last person you trusted. Ran off to tell the whole world our secret." _Somehow that didn't sound like it made the Hollow too angry, more he seemed like he thought it was funny. Ichigo didn't claim to understand the Hollow though.

"I know, shut up." Ichigo considered it for a long moment, it was a difficult choice, to trust Urahara or not on this. On one hand he'd already been discovered trying to dispose of his own body, on the other Urahara didn't know his secret, and he wasn't going to make that same mistake again and tell him, despite all the help the man had been in the past. He still needed him on his side to get into Hueco Mundo soon. "We still need him to get into Soul Society, so we'll see this one out and be ready to run if we need to, but we're not telling him anything."

"_Aibou__, there's another way."_ The Hollow insisted, angry that once again his opinion was being overruled. "_We don't need this guy. He'll just sell us out too. He might even be leading us into a trap now. The Shinigami have had more than enough time to set one up."_

"I kind of like the idea of being able to use my body again after things die down." He felt invisible hands pulling at his clothes, trying to drag him further down the alley, urging him to flee and just leave his body there. Ichigo swatted at where they were, knowing it wouldn't have any real affect, he was just feeling an impression from the Hollow. "Don't touch me."

"_Fine, have it your way." _And suddenly as that the hands were gone, and for the first time in a while Ichigo felt alone in his own head.

"Well, are you coming?" He snapped back to the present, where Urahara was still waiting for him to follow him back to his shop.

"Yeah, I just zoned out there for a second." He slipped back into his body, standing and brushing his jeans off. "Lead the way."

They walked back to the shop in silence, and it was complete silence. Ichigo became more than a little unnerved by the lack of snarky commentary from the Hollow. He couldn't possibly be angry over this still, could he? It was just one carefully made decision that would, hopefully, benefit them both in the long run. After all, even if they did plan on disappearing off the planet for a little while it didn't mean they couldn't come back and live normally after some time.

Who knew, if Urahara was as good as his word, even if less and less people were proving to be lately, maybe in a hundred years Ichigo could pull his body out and dust it off and be a person again. If the unsteady truce between the two of them lasted that long, or if he wasn't betrayed or killed before then.

When even by the time they'd reached the shop the Hollow hadn't put in one word Ichigo finally decided it wasn't a bad thing and he'd rather live without the annoyance while he could.

"I suppose you're still in the middle of getting ready to go after Orihime chan again?" Urahara asked as Ichigo slid the shogi door shut behind him, kicking off his shoes. "How has your training been going for that?"

"It was going fine." Ichigo answered uncertainly, not sure if this was just small talk or if the other man was trying to get something out of him.

"Was, is it? Then it's not now." The closed fan tapped against his chin. "Well I suppose until you're ready to run off to fight again you can train here. Or until you think that you need to run away again." He said it casually as if it made no difference to him. "Whatever you're hiding from won't find you here. I've spent the last one hundred years right there and had no problems what so ever."

Ichigo hesitated, waiting for the no and all the reasons why it wasn't a good idea. How that there still could be a trap, or he could be trying to lead them into a false sense of security... but it was dead silent. Funny how the voice in his head had become commonplace in such a short time.

"If it's not any trouble. I'm sure you've got your own stuff to do; this is a shop isn't it?"

"Don't be silly, I can manage; I have plenty of help, and I was fine closing down to help train you before." Urahara laughed, waving his fan to dismiss the idea. "With that settled, let's handle that body of yours. It must be quite a burden if you want to get rid of it so bad." He turned and made his way deeper into the shop, leaving Ichigo no choice but to follow or stand in the door like an idiot.

He was led back into the store room where all sorts of things and stock sat collecting dust. Ichigo wasn't sure what exactly happened, but before he knew it he was helping stuff his body into a crate covered in seals and spells that made no sense to him. It wasn't so much a crate either, it looked like one but weighted a ton and had a huge room on the inside of with with metal wall.

"Lower it in carefully, if you bruise it now those will keep until you take it out again." Urahara warned, standing back as Ichigo tried to lower his own weight into this box. It wasn't easy either. Despite the alternate dimension on the other end, the opening was too small, and he was having to squeeze his body into it without pushing it so far that it dropped the last couple of feet.

"This isn't exactly easy." He muttered, barley catching himself before he slipped.

"Come now, if you can invade Sereitei you can handle something as simple as storage." It was meant to be encouraging, Ichigo reminded himself, not condescending. "Good. Now we just put on the lid and label it so we don't get it mixed up with anything else."

"How many more bodies do you have down here?"

"I don't know, I keep a lot of things on hand, you never know what you'll need." For some reason his laugh was more bone chilling than the Hollows was at times. "Now let's set you up with a room. It's already getting late in the day so we can set you up with some training exorcises tomorrow."

Ichigo got the feeling that this was going to be an unpleasant little stay. But he had to admit at least he could train, hide from Soul Society, and get into Hueco Mundo when he felt he was ready to try and face the Espada again. Not only them, but he'd be taking on Aizen, and depending on Soul Society's timing maybe even some Shinigami again. "Sounds good. I think I'll go to bed early tonight. I haven't had a good night's sleep in a while."

"Tsk, tsk, rest is another important part of training. Both your body and mind need a moment every once in a while or something could snap. Then who would that benefit?" Urahara admonished him, but it was almost like he was trying to tell Ichigo something different that what he was saying. Seemed like it but Ichigo couldn't figure it out if he was.

"No one. No one at all." He agreed. 


	11. Worst kept secret

Note: All instances of Aibo have been changed to Aibou.

Not much else to say at the moment, thanks for the reviews and help so far with catching little mistakes... guess I'm still looking for a beta, which is what the hold up has been mostly. Hope you enjoy this chapter... also I hate to be a tease, but for those of you waiting on the smut there is only a few more chapters to go for that.

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Training at Urahara's should have been less life threatening with the lack of Vizards, maybe more interesting, but less dangerous. No, he was pretty sure he nearly died at least twice before breakfast each morning; it was the minimum for him to earn the right to a meal.

He found that living without a body wasn't much different, he had to eat and sleep just like normal, and bathing was a must. At times he found himself forgetting that he'd stowed away his body without the reminder of having to crawl back into it when it was time to call training quits.

It'd been two or three days at most, hard to tell when he spent all his time underground where it was always day, and he still kept one eye over his shoulder. He didn't doubt Urahara could hide him from anyone who decided he was more dangerous than useful, but that and a few days of quiet didn't mean he trusted the man.

He could have guessed what the Hollow's opinion on the situation was, but he didn't know for sure. He was throwing a tantrum and still not speaking. He hadn't been poked or prodded at since he'd arrived here, and not so much as an insult when he screwed up.

He was skeptical of what the Hollow was up to, like he always was, but there hadn't been this much silence since... well since the first time the Hollow tried to grab control away from him in the fight against Byakuya. Without saying it was more prevalent in his life now, running commentary, suggestions on ways to kill the people around him, mockery. He'd never noticed how unbelievably annoying the bastard really was now that he was alone in his own head again.

"You seem to be in a good mood." Urahara didn't even look up from his food as he spoke. "Did something happen between morning training and breakfast?"

"No." Ichigo dug into his food, realizing that he was in a good mood. He hadn't had the luxury of being in a good mood in what seemed a long time, and knowing how things stood it wasn't looking like he would be able to for a while yet. "I just thought of something, that's all."

"Oh, if that's all then."

------

Orihime didn't venture outside of her room much, not that she was restricted to it or anything, but it wasn't safe and she knew that much without anyone needing to point it out. If nothing else she didn't want to risk running into Nnoitora again. He wouldn't kill her, but it had taken some time for her black eyes to heal.

She'd thought that after the break in her friends had performed she'd be watched more carefully, or that because Grimmjow had been the one to break her out that she'd be watched even against Arrancar who had their own agenda in mind. But no one came to bother her, the only Arrancar she ever saw was Ulquiorra, just like it had been before, and she was occasionally taken to see Aizen for tea.

She had passed by Loli and Menori once on her way to speak to Aizen, and it surprised her how much the fear in their eyes hurt her. They'd tried to kill her, and would have succeeded had they not been stopped, but she'd healed them. She hadn't told anyone what they'd done, and Grimmjow didn't seem the type to tattle on someone, so why were they so scared?

She had her own agenda now, and she couldn't keep waiting around, she had to start moving before it was too late or winter would be here before she got her chance. So now that her eyes weren't swollen, and she was pretty sure that no one would bother her, it was time to start working.

Finding her way around was more difficult than she thought. When she had a route somewhere memorized she found she had it wrong the next day. Or she'd walk in a straight line and find herself back where she started some days, even though she never took the same path twice. If she followed the way Ulquiorra led her on her own she would get nowhere and have to turn back after a while, but when he was with her the trip was always a short walk.

She hadn't run into anyone yet though, and that was encouraging. Maybe they were avoiding her, unknowingly making it easier for her to move around. So she didn't have any problem wandering around for most of the day if she wanted too, she just had to be back in time for a meal.

Once or twice she'd been found and informed that Aizen would like to speak to her, only to be lead around the same corner she'd just turned to find that they were already there. He always talked about the same thing, telling her how he wanted her trust, he even went so far as to show her all her friends were still alive once. She actually got to see them, what they were doing at that moment in their world. She'd nearly cried when she saw Ichigo's face, he was carrying the biggest burden of them all with that terrifying power of his.

She still peeked around corners though, as she explored. Just because luck had been with her to this point didn't mean it would stay. She walked softly, leaning just far enough around the corner to check and make sure no one was really there. She could always feel reiatsu near by, but in this place it was hard to tell just how nearby that really was.

It actually made her nervous that today everything felt so far away, and no matter what way she went no one's reiatsu seemed to be getting any closer. Like they were purposefully keeping their distance from her, or watching to see what she would do.

She peered around another corner, down a side hallway that lead straight away from her rooms somewhere back behind her. Just an empty white corridor.

"What the hell are you doing?" She jumped what had to be three feet in the air. "You look fuckin' stupid playing spy like that. Some game of yours or something?" Grimmjow was standing not far behind her, arms folded just over the hole in his stomach. He looked pretty bad, she hadn't seen him since he was told he'd be under Szayel Aporro's care, and now he had too many scars some so thin they were like little white lines drawn across his skin.

"I was just looking around." She smiled at him nervously, though he didn't scare her as much as he once had. He'd helped Ichigo, and saved her life, he couldn't be a bad guy if he'd done that.

"Sneaking around you mean." He shook his head, like he couldn't believe it. "You must be dumber than you look. There isn't anywhere you can go right now that he isn't watchin' you."

Orihime hadn't considered that, but it made sense. "Why hasn't he stopped me then?" There was no question as to who he was.

"'Cus there's nowhere you can go. If you're tryin' to find somethin' then you'll need someone to show you the way. The hallways change." He looked at her for a second, she was too stunned to speak. Finally he sighed and turned back the way he'd come. "Follow me, I'll take you back."

A moment later they were standing outside her room, where she'd been heading away from it for more than an hour it had taken only a few minutes to return.

"Don't waist your time with whatever it is you're doin'. You can't do anything here without help."

Stunned, it took her a moment to realize he was leaving again. "Wait!" He stopped and looked over his shoulder at her, one blue eye over a threatening white jaw line. She wasn't scared of him, not this Espada. "Let me heal those scars for you." He hadn't been that cut up after fighting with Ichigo. "I owe you a favor."

"Save it." He continued walking waving one hand to dismiss it. "I'd rather use it for somethin' that matters."

------

Rukia was hard at work going through piles of endless paperwork during the day, and dealing with living with her brother again during the evenings, she even had a curfew that was easily enforced since she received all of her orders directly from her brother now. It was a full time job of making sure she didn't misstep and end up neck deep in trouble. She'd nearly done so twice today and she'd barely been at this whole Sixth Division thing.

Then there was Renji, traipsing off to the human world to check up on Ichigo and make sure everything was all right. He had only been gone a few days but she was willing to bet money that he was having a much more pleasant time of things than she was. There'd been no reports of Hollow activity in Kurakura, and for the most part anything dealing with Hueco Mundo was quiet and being observed carefully. It had been that way since Ichigo had saved all of them and dragged them out of there.

She was worried about her friends, both of them. Just because the official word was that everything was still quiet didn't mean it couldn't change at any moment, and the reason either of them had wanted to go back to the human world in the first place was to check on Ichigo. He wasn't himself, he was distancing himself from them and she didn't know why.

Rukia pulled her own hair in frustration, tempted to stop and find a nearby wall to bang her head against until everything started making sense. Things just weren't right no matter where she looked. Byakuya was acting strangely, taking punishment for himself to get her and Renji out of trouble, Ichigo had become more distant and secluded, and what was worse is that she was nearly one hundred percent sure that Renji had schemed with Byakuya for the right to get out of all this busy work and take a trip back to Kurakura.... the bastards.

"Kuchiki san." A quiet but steady voice pulled her out of her thoughts, and with both hands still clutching the sides of her head she turned to see who had called after her.

"Oh, Kurotsuchi Fukutaichou." She quickly dropped her arms to her sides and bowed. "What can I do for you?"

Nemu didn't seem to take notice of Rukia's disheveled appearance, or if she did notice it wasn't worth commenting on. "Mayuri sama requests that you come and see him at once."

"Oh, of course." Rukia mentally shuddered at the thought, Kurotsuchi Mayuri wasn't the most agreeable of people, and someone she'd prefer to avoid if she could. As much as she'd like to not go and speak with the man, she couldn't very well ignore the summons of a captain, especially when he sent his vice captain to retrieve her.

Without another word Nemu turned and set a brisk pace back to the Twelfth Division headquarters, Nemu's long legs forced Rukia to take two steps to her every one just to keep up.

It was late out, the sky deep oranges and reds, and quickly fading to deep dark blues around the edges. Night would set in a matter of minutes, and that made Rukia even more uncomfortable with the idea of going to visit the captain of the research division. All of the nasty rumors about the man surfacing in her mind as she and Nemu walked along in silence. She supposed it wouldn't be quite so bad if it weren't for the fact that some of those rumors weren't just rumor.

"Did he say why he wanted to speak to me?" Unable to take the awkward silence between them any longer Rukia asked the only thing she could think of.

"He only told me to bring you to speak with him." Nemu answered cleanly. "The reason why was not mentioned, he only said he had something of interest to show you."

A shiver ran up Rukia's spine at that. Whatever he had to show her would undoubtedly be less than pleasant. Her mind entertained the thought that he might want to show her the business end of a scalpel, but she quickly reminded herself that her brother would not stand for anyone to disgrace the Kuchiki name by experimenting on anyone in their family.

Without any sort of response to that coming to mind, Rukia just kept quiet and tried not to fidget as she watched the growing shadows fade in the evening light. Her brother couldn't possibly be angry at her when she was kept out by another captain, but honestly she'd rather face his punishment right about now.

The situation reminded her of one of those horror movies she'd watched while living in Ichigo's closet what seemed forever ago. She'd faked coming over to visit so she could sit down and eat dinner with them, and happened to be dragged into a movie night with Ichigo's family. Ichigo himself had gone up stairs claiming that he had homework to do, and muttering under his breath how stupid the whole thing was. She'd been fascinated by the film, a group of strangers getting lost and wandering around trying to find there way back when they start getting picked off one by one until they were all dead. The murderer had cut them all up in different and gruesome ways.

She'd had nightmares that night, and Ichigo had laughed at her saying he couldn't believe she was so worked up over such a badly made movie.

But it was a night like this one in the movie, and had been the same clear weather back then too. She hadn't even wanted to go outside just to sneak back in Ichigo's bedroom window she'd been so scared.

The difference was that she was alone, Nemu was with her, but Nemu was Mayuri's daughter, and probably safe from whatever perversions the man had in store.

"We're here." Rukia nearly jumped out of her skin when Nemu spoke, hand coming up to press where her heart was trying to beat through her chest. She'd gotten herself all worked without even realizing it. "Please follow me inside."

"Y-yes."

For a research facility the inside of the Twelfth Division headquarters was dark, and many of the doors were heavy metal doors that opened inward instead of the usual sliding shogi. She could hear muffled sounds from behind some of those doors, but otherwise the place was dead quiet. There weren't even other members of the division around finishing up last minute work.

The air was cold, causing goose bumps to rise on her arms through the layers of her shihakusho, and her mind started to wander again, thinking that it was this cold to preserve bodies. She shook her head firmly to dispel the thoughts but one horrible image after another crept into her mind.

Nemu finally came to a stop in front of a larger door, metal like all the others, but obviously a more important room lay beyond. She'd never had any reason to come down here before, so she really didn't know what to expect when she stepped inside.

There was a large bank of computer equipment and screens displaying data and monitoring things that she could only were assume in other rooms of the building. This room was dark like the rest of the building, but it was darker still when the heavy door behind her swung shut with a dull thud, trapping her inside alone.

"So you're the one." The hairs on the back of Rukia's neck stood on end, and she searched around the room trying to make her eyes adjust and find the source of it. "The girl that had people break into Sereitei to save from execution."

Finally she was able to pick out the odd shape of Mayuri's strange hat and over large cloak. He was standing about half the distance between her and the computers against the far wall. "Yes, but I didn't want them to."

"You didn't want to be saved." His cold laughter made her want to run. "Or you wanted to protect them maybe? Do they hold a special place in your heart?" He was mocking her, and she couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to make her angry. "It doesn't matter which though. They were an interesting group, two humans with interesting powers, like that girl." Her eyes were adjusting better and she could see the fingers on one of his hands twitch slightly as he mentioned Orihime. "A Quincy, and a human who'd gained Shinigami powers."

"There were people who had helped fight Hollows while I was waiting for my powers to return in the human world." She responded carefully, not sure what he was after, and not wanting to give him anything she could use against her or them.

"I'm sure they did, but that too is beside the point. The boy, the Shinigami boy, he's the one I'm interested in at this particular moment." The way Mayuri spoke of Ichigo like he was some sort of piece of meat made her skin crawl. "He hadn't had his powers more than a month when he came here for you, correct?"

"Yes." If he already knew there was no point in lying about it. Still she was on her guard as Mayuri turned to the computer monitors and the display changed, suddenly a list of data was scrolling over the screen. It was almost too fast for her to read, but it seemed to be on the incident where they stopped the execution.

"You know he defeated a third seat, several vice captains, and two captains. Not only that but he managed to achieve bankai as well in that time. A very interesting boy." These things were all common knowledge, no one had tried to cover it up that Ichigo had done all those things during the rescue mission and fight with Aizen after. "But that isn't the most amazing thing."

Rukia wasn't sure where this was going, she had a guess , though, that it was something related to her own suspicion while fighting alongside Ichigo recently. "What is?"

"I'm so glad you asked." The image on the screen changed, showing data on the Arrancar and some on higher ranked Hollows. "You see, even though there were others who'd come here with far more interesting powers, I've never been one to let an opportunity for research pass unnoticed. The girl Aizen took for instance, I so badly wanted to study her. Her powers are remarkable. I couldn't do more than watch her though, so I decided I'd keep an eye on the whole group to see what became of them after they returned to their own world." More data, this time on all of her friends, one at a time, information on their powers and on them as individuals all displayed like they were nothing more than Guinea pigs.

It seemed like voyeurism to her, watching all of her friends without any of them noticing. He'd monitored them like they were nothing more than rats in cages testing new drugs. She could hear the sick thrill he got from exposing every little detail of their lives and keeping record of it. Kurotsuchi Mayuri was nothing but a twisted pervert and he was proud of it, it made Rukia sick to her stomach.

"What does this have to do with anything. They're all strong, and talented, that's nothing to mark interest." Not only was she disgusted by this man, she felt a growing hatred deep inside of her that was quickly convincing her that everyone would be better off without Mayuri in the world.

"Oh more than that. I was sure you'd be the most interested to learn this little secret about your friend. After all you went through the trouble of sneaking into Hueco Mundo to help him fight the Arrancar, so you would have a right to know." She could see the flash of white teeth in what she could only call a wicked grin. "Now," The screen showed pictures of their second battle with the Arrancar, when Grimmjow had nearly sent a cero through her head. "This wasn't the first time we've seen this little mask." Ichigo was displayed on the screen wearing what could only be described as a Hollow mask. White bone with red markings on one side. "It also made an appearance while he was fighting Kuchiki Byakuya, but not whole like it is here." The images faded and more data scrolled across the screen, certain points highlighted. "Recently he'd disappeared too, but now that he's returned to where we can study him again you'll note a distinct change in his reiatsu." She couldn't make sense of the graph displayed.

"What is it?" Rukia felt she would regret asking.

"Let me compare to the information we have on the blue haired Arrancar. What was he, the Sexta Espada I believe?" Side by side she couldn't see much difference between the two.

"I don't understand." She admitted after a moment.

Mayuri laughed, condescendingly and cruelly. "Of course you don't. Let me explain this in the simplest terms possible. That boy, that so-called friend of yours, has the same reiatsu reading as an Arrancar."

Rukia was at a loss for words. It made sense, from what she'd seen, some of the things Ichigo had said and done, but she didn't want to believe it. He couldn't be like them, not when he was fighting so hard to protect everyone. "B-but..."

"Are you worried that he'll be made an enemy of Soul Society?" The screens clicked off and some lights came on, but the room didn't seem any brighter than before. "It is my job to monitor the situation and report back to Yamamoto Taichou, and I'm sure he would make that declaration without hesitating. However this is the perfect opportunity to collect data I missed out on before, so for now I won't say anything. He is receiving all his information from my division after all."

Rukia sighed in relief.

"However." She held her breath again. "Back to why I'm telling you this. Once we've rescued your little friend from Aizen I want you to help me in gathering data on her. Her powers are unique and even if she was underestimated by all of her friends not only did I take notice of her, but Aizen went through the trouble of kidnapping her. I want to know just what exactly she can do, what's more I want to know how she does it."

"You want me to betray my friend?"

"No, I want you to compromise, help me gather data on one so I don't expose what I've already gathered on another."

Rukia felt suddenly light headed as she tried to process and think over what was happening, no what couldn't possibly be happening in anything but a dream. Her stomach tied itself in knots as she weighed her options. "I'm going to have to think about it."

"I thought you might say that." He seemed disappointed, but not angry. "Fine, think, but keep in mind: you don't have long."

"One more thing," She nearly hesitated in asking, "Renji just left to the human world to work with Ichigo, so why didn't you ask him. He's probably going to go back to Hueco Mundo and end up saving Orihime before I get through my next stack of paperwork."

A look of disgust passed over his black and white face. "I try not to deal with complete idiots when I don't have to. It's convenient that he's left, he'd probably interfere without even realizing it."

Renji was definitely having a better time of things with Ichigo, there was no way it could be worse for him after this.


	12. Going in Circles

Has a chapter, and the next will have the smut you've all been anticipating... along with still having plot *gasp*. Of course how quickly it gets uploaded depends on how many reviews I get. You know, the usual. And it WILL get uploaded, as it is already written.

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Days passed and things were going nowhere. Urahara had pointed that out after another day of training- that Ichigo was useless unless he could call out his full power. He was holding back when he shouldn't be, or he was unable to bring himself to use his full ability. The look he'd given Ichigo said that they both knew what he was talking about. At the very least, the implications had the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. He didn't ask, because he might let more slip than he wanted to.

He'd been doing well, Ichigo had thought. He was faster than he had been before, better at predicting the movements of his opponents if nothing else. Those were improvements, even if not large ones. Yet he couldn't argue. This wasn't enough if he wanted to leave as soon as he planned. He needed the cooperation of the Hollow- a hard thing to come by when they were on good terms.

The silence was the issue; it wasn't like he hadn't tried to speak to the bastard. He'd only said a few things, and hadn't received so much as an insult thrown his way. Not that he minded that much. He could think for himself for a little while, and try and figure out what he was going to do once he broke back into Hueco Mundo, knowing it was going to be a nonstop fight until he had defeated every last obstacle in his path.

So they called it quits early in the day, Urahara going off to do whatever it was he did (Ichigo didn't particularly want to find out) and Ichigo deciding that the Asshole had been allowed to sulk long enough.

He sat in the shade of one of the large boulders, giving up on being surprised that anything remained intact in this place. Legs crossed and hands braced on knees he turned his attention inward. He didn't enter the inner world, he didn't see the need, but he was searching for any sign of where the bastard might have gone.

"I know you're in there." He grumbled, brows knit as he called out mentally to his other half. "Don't you think you're going overboard?" Ichigo knew what had pissed the Hollow off- well, had an idea, anyway. He'd been too lenient from the start with him and then had been pushed over the edge by something he should have put a stop to from the start.

The only answer he got was silence, but he kept trying, giving up on keeping it to himself and speaking out loud. He tried baiting him with insults, working his way to straight-out demands. Anything that came to mind he threw out there. Their rivalry was something to work off of, though it wasn't really a solid tactic to use.

"Get over yourself already! You said you'd help me with this, then you just fucking disappear on me?"

"Asshole, you're pushing it, don't think you're getting off easy for this."

"You're just afraid that your plan to lure me into a false sense of security is failing, that you won't be strong enough to be King."

"Maybe you've finally noticed I'm not so stupid that I'm just going to break our contract. You thinking of a better plan? Waiting for me to sleep? It won't work."

"Come on, you're wasting time, we can't play these games. Whatever stick you've got up your ass, pull it out and get serious about this."

Nothing worked, even the occasional personable thing he said. He tried everything he could think of, every insult, every taunt, every reason why this was a bad time for a temper tantrum. Nothing. He sat there calling out, yelling sometimes, gritting his teeth and just concentrating. His hands curled into fists, blunt nails digging into his palms until they drew blood, shoulders locked until they knotted. His mood went from bad to worse as the day drew on, unable to comprehend how anyone could have a fit to this extent, even if they were heartless and selfish by nature.

He peeked into his inner world, but it was empty of any presence except his own. Still he waited for a while, occasionally calling out for an answer. He even wandered some, looking around from place to place though it all looked the same to him. For all he knew he was wandering in circles and couldn't even tell the difference.

Ichigo could honestly say he'd never been so thoroughly ignored in his entire life. The Hollow had hidden himself so well it was almost like he'd never been there in the first place. That was a dangerous thought on its own, and he forced himself to forget it as soon as it came up. This was just a case of who was more stubborn.

He didn't know how long had passed. The sun never moved, and he didn't exactly have a watch on him. He kept at it until his stomach tried to claw its way out for food and couldn't be ignored any longer. Still he had no results. Finally he stood, swinging his fist back against the boulder that had been his shade in anger. A large chunk broke free and fell not far from him, but he didn't notice as he stomped off. He didn't know where he was going- it wasn't like this was a problem he could walk away from.

------

Byakuya worked quietly, having had to take on a small portion of paperwork since Renji had left for the living world. What he had in front of him, however, could not hope to compare with the stack Rukia had to tackle, most of her load things that didn't even warrant attention to begin with.

The few documents he'd taken were important matters, and he paid close attention to them. Details on plans to move against Hueco Mundo were written out, as well as extra things that couldn't be covered in meetings. Things he couldn't have left to another, in any case.

Still, he glanced up from time to time, keeping a close eye on his new Third Seat. She had learned to hide her emotions well since they had first met so many years ago, but he was far more practiced than she and could read her like a book. She was frustrated with her work, that was to be expected, but she was obviously preoccupied with something else. Perhaps her friends in the human world, or the girl who was held by Aizen . She had thrown herself in with an odd lot, though he couldn't call them untrustworthy. They'd all risked their lives for one person and then another, dragged into matters that didn't concern them because of their odd sense of companionship.

Whatever the matter was, it obviously was troubling her deeply. He had put her under his thumb, as the saying went, since she'd come back. He'd helped her leave, expecting that boy Kurosaki Ichigo to keep her alive, and he had. But she'd come far too close to dying, and now Byakuya would do whatever was in his power to make sure it did not happen again. Twice she'd come close to death, and both times it was his poor judgment where the blame had no choice but to fall. It was his duty to keep her alive.

He also had to keep an eye on his division too. Luckily, he'd had no trouble keeping them in line (and making sure Rukia followed her curfew) all at once. He'd gone so far as to request observation and regular reports on Renji's progress in the living world, since he'd gone through the trouble of getting him out of punishment as well. The first report had been fairly basic and expected for the most part- he'd made contact with Ichigo after a little less than half a day, not because Renji had found him, but rather that the boy had come out of hiding at a convenient time.

The second report was more than a bit odd; both Renji and Ichigo's reiatsu had become untraceable within hours of each other, though what had happened exactly was unknown due to the level of observation. They could only divert so much away from the important matter of dealing with Aizen. It was safe to assume that Ichigo had gone back into hiding, but would he take the other with him? It also didn't fit that Renji had gone missing before the other boy. The next report had been just as unclear, and the one after as well.

He had not informed Rukia of this, as the situation was not yet understood and causing unnecessary panic would only complicate things. As she was already obviously worrying over things, he had chosen not to add to that- besides, she had work to concentrate on, though she was barely doing so.

Byakuya finished reading the extra information from the last meeting, the things they had left out of their discussion to make sure all were clear on specific things. One topic included some things that the Twelfth Division had noticed in their research that would prove useful in dealing with the Arrancar and their inconvenient set of powers, if their experiments proved fruitful. The next form was the report he'd just been contemplating, with the mysterious disappearances of both men. He expected much the same, since the situation had not altered in the slightest from the first day's events. However, this was not something he expected.

After reading and rereading what was written he folded the paper neatly, setting it inside of haori where he was sure no other eyes would fall on it. This complicated matters, and forced him to reevaluate some of his previous thinking.

Kurosaki Ichigo is currently held under the suspicion of the murder of Abarai Renji, Fukutaichou of the Sixth Division. He has not been formally charged on this crime, but evidence provided by the research teams in the Twelfth Division has been presented that points showing that he is the logical suspect in this case. Mention of suspicion shall not be made to any other than Taichou and Fukutaichou until formal charges have been made against the suspect.

Kurosaki Ichigo, substitute Shinigami, is a valuable asset in bringing the traitor to justice and therefore will not be interfered with unless necessary until further notice. If necessary, cooperate with him, but be sure to take the utmost caution when dealing with him for his exact loyalties remain in question.

Once the traitor Aizen Sosuke has been stopped and brought to justice, the investigation of Kurosaki Ichigo will be left in the hands of the Second, Sixth (due to direct involvement of one of the members), and Twelfth Divisions.

He picked up the next document requiring his attention, but his thoughts were fixed elsewhere. What to trust, and who? Things had proven not what they'd seemed before, and that was enough cause to take caution in decision making.

The first course of action was clear: keep those he could safe until a solution presented itself, and don't tell Rukia a thing lest she decide to try and get herself killed again.

------

After his failed attempts at calling the Hollow back, Ichigo had become paranoid that the second he let his guard down the Hollow would take control, deciding that their disagreement constituted breaking the contract, even if it didn't make any sense under the agreed terms. When that didn't happen, Ichigo started to enjoy the quiet to its fullest extent. How long had it been since he'd been alone in his own head? If he was honest with himself, it hadn't been since he'd gained his Shinigami powers.

In just the course of a few days, he'd gone from content with a little silence to jumping at the slightest sound. He hadn't spoken to Urahara about the situation. Honestly, he was more than a little worried at what he knew, and didn't want to offer more information if he could avoid it. Though he had nothing to worry about from the shop keeper himself, his assistant was more of a problem to avoid. He hadn't had any problem with it until now, but caution could save him from more trouble in the end.

It wasn't like he was going crazy, or had become recently incredibly insightful. It was just that he was well aware that there was more going on here than an argument. He just wanted to know the purpose the Hollow had behind cutting himself off like this! Ichigo knew that the Hollow was manipulative by nature, that everything he did was in his own self interest, even if it was not immediately obvious why. So how was he to know that this was not part of some plan to back Ichigo into a metaphorical corner, and become King that way? Everything he did and said was designed to destroy Ichigo's trust in those around him, though he knew now that wasn't a completely unfounded theory.

It was a stupid thought at first, but the more he thought about it the more it made sense to him. After all, he'd started getting all touchy and feel-y when the paranoia and near fear of human contact was first starting to get to Ichigo. It was almost a kindness that the Hollow had been so friendly with him, even if it was annoying as hell at the time. That thought reinforced his theory that the Hollow couldn't honestly be anything like kind- it just wasn't possible for a being of his nature.

Even if that weren't the immediate goal, he didn't doubt that the Hollow had that in mind from the start. It was the only way this whole thing could play out, and that's why he planned to remove himself to a place where the Hollow couldn't do any harm before it all fell through.

As he lay staring off into space in the little room that had become his temporary home, he turned it over in his head. How had he come to rely on the stupid bastard at all for anything but power? Since their deal he'd been locked in his own mind during a fight with an Espada, laughed at while he trained, and forced to deal with cutting the people he cared about out of his life. Because, as far as the Hollow was concerned, he wasn't even allowed to be part of his own family. Though he'd known for a while that his family life would never be normal again, not with the secret of his Shinigami powers hanging over his head.

It could've been that, when he didn't know how people would react to him, when even someone he'd called a friend ran off in the middle of the night to rat him out. How did he know that someone else might not do the same? He didn't have to worry about that sort of backstabbing from the Hollow. It was a mutually understood and accepted stabbing he expected from the crazy bastard. Or had expected, until this shit started.

He didn't really know what he expected, though, if he was honest with himself. The Hollow (for all he went on about not trusting other people) was the epitome of untrustworthy. His ultimate goal was as obvious as daylight, but how he was getting there when everything he did seemed so completely obvious was where Ichigo was having trouble. He'd even seemed cooperative for the most part in this deal, minus the personality flaws and constant annoyance. It was all making him just plain uneasy and paranoid of the voice in his head (or lack there of at the moment) and making him push away the people around him. Ichigo just didn't know what to expect anymore.

He did know that he wouldn't quit, that he would fight this through until the end, whatever that might be. He told himself that nothing would get in the way as he picked at his food, not really noticing that the others at the table were all watching him carefully, their eyes examining him until they finished and left the room.

"There is no one who can help you get ready for the battle ahead but you." Urahara told him as they sat around after dinner. It was the third fruitless day of trying to call the Hollow out. "If you can't get past this current problem then you are useless and should just go home."

"I know that." Ichigo snapped back, already at the end of his rope in frustrations. Most of the time he appreciated the blunt honesty Urahara had about certain things, but right now he didn't need it. "You think I'm not trying? That I don't know what I have to do?" No one was more acutely aware of the burdens he had to bear than himself. He knew- one mistake and he'd be crushed by the responsibilities he'd shouldered, which was why he had to become stronger.

"Obviously not. If you knew what you had to do you would have done it by now." Urahara wasn't even looking at him as he spoke, simply sitting staring off at some unknown point in the distance, his fan covering the lower half of his face, hiding anything that might be written there.

"That's no-"

"Pride is dangerous. It keeps us from looking at the whole picture, and admitting when we're doing something wrong. It's gotten more than a few people in trouble in the last few hundred years." Ichigo didn't respond. Urahara seemed to know what he was talking about from personal experience, but it was hard to tell sometimes. Ichigo wasn't really listening though, too focused on how he saw the situation to want advice from another. Another person's insight was usually welcome, but this was one situation he felt confident in saying was unique to him.

Urahara stood. "It's late, I think I'll call it a night." With a bright smile he dismissed himself, leaving the moody boy to his thoughts.

Ichigo cursed under his breath, stomping out of the room to go to his own. He'd forget about it for tonight and worry about it in the morning. Even if he couldn't afford to be wasting his time right now, not like this. He still needed to keep in good health. If he got sick or neglected to take care of himself, he'd help no one.

How was he supposed to keep doing this? The whole point had been that he couldn't win on his own, but all of a sudden, there he was again, alone! It was different than before, since other people had tried to help and nearly died. He wanted to put a stop to that and end this mess once and for all. Wasn't this supposed to be the answer to that? If so, then why was it so damned complicated?

He'd made a mistake, he was well aware, of making that deal in the beginning. He was sure, had the circumstances been slightly different, if he had waited just a little longer, and if Orihime had gotten there first, before he'd decided he was at the end of the road, things would be drastically different now. He tried to imagine it; he was sure he could have won in that fight against Grimmjow, he knew he was at least that strong. What would have been different from there? Would he have just died against another opponent in the next battle? He wasn't so sure he would have- he knew his own strength and that of those he fought alongside, and maybe things would have been fine without him making this choice. Perhaps Soul Society would have interfered, too.

Who was he kidding? There was no way that, just in the nick of time, Kenpachi or Byakuya would show up and help them out. It was completely ridiculous to imagine losing a fight and having one of them step in and win it for him instead. What would Soul Society do there in Hueco Mundo, when he'd beaten them on their own turf not too long back?

Maybe he would have lost, and lost his soul instead of his life. He didn't think that the Hollow would let him just die in battle. But he'd let him come close, like before, and, when he was too weak to fight back, take over. When that happened he'd be a prisoner in his own head, everyone he worked to protect would probably be killed, and who knew what else would go wrong.

------

When he woke up the next morning, Ichigo didn't climb out of bed. Instead, he closed his eyes again and dove into his inner world, the strange-yet-familiar cityscape surrounding him, the dull grey skies around him, and concrete and glass under his feet despite what gravity dictated. He'd been here a lot lately, and had become comfortable with it despite himself. Though if it reflected his soul, then he couldn't see why he wouldn't be comfortable with it, though he'd never know why it was sideways like it was.

It was an empty world, as he well knew. Only he and the Hollow existed there, and maybe Zangetsu, if the old man was still around. But now, just as before when he'd peeked in, the only face he saw was his own, reflected back up at him from the sideways skyscrapers. A face that looked older than it should, glaring back up at him from the dark glass. This was taking years off his life. He was sure he'd be finding grey hairs soon.

"HEY!" He yelled out, his voice echoing back at him; 'HEY, Hey, hey...' and fading. Of course there was no reply. Not that he had really expected one. "Are you really not even going to talk to me about this... whatever this is?" What had he done again? Nothing, really. He just needed his way into Hueco Mundo, and he knew Urahara could manage that. He'd done it before, so he was at least reliable in that respect.

Silence was his response. He couldn't even find the Hollow, either. He walked all around, searching from building to building, taking his time, and getting angrier as he knew the bastard was probably hiding in the shadows, laughing his ass off right now. This might be his soul, but the Hollow lived here in this fucked-up, sideways place, and he probably knew things Ichigo couldn't guess, as disturbing as that might be.

A single bolt of lighting cracked across the sky, striking close enough to cause the hair on his arms to stand. It was bright and loud, reflecting his anger. A vein pulsed above his eye, and he felt like his teeth would break if he clenched his jaw any tighter. His whole body was pushed to the end of what he could take of this. He had something he needed to do still and couldn't be caught up in games, and that's what this had to be. Twisted fucker didn't take anything seriously, at least nothing that Ichigo took seriously.

The sword on his back felt heavy today, like it was weighing him down, pulling at his stiff shoulders. He felt the desire to just drop it and run, but he couldn't do that. He still needed it- Ichigo couldn't allow himself to be caught defenseless. Not in this place, with a predator lurking around the corner, and not in the real world, where anyone could turn on him at any moment.

He was surrounded by enemies, and because he couldn't actually see them, he was starting to see ghosts of them everywhere. Even when he looked in the mirror; he knew he was waiting for the moment he finally made a mistake that brought his carefully constructed plan down on himself.

Feeling drained he faded back into reality, eyes opening to stare at the shadows on the plain wooden ceiling above him, shadows cast by the fading light of evening pouring through his window. The day had already passed him by.

He was running out of time.


	13. From the Beginning

Okay, I suppose you've all been good kids, well good enough. So here is the promised chapter 13 with the smut people have been asking about since chapter 3. I even did it so without it is the normal chapter length and then added the rest, so it's a total of two thousand words longer than the minimum of four thousand. Anywho, better still review people, or I'll be sad. And as always thanks to those who did

**Also for those of you who do not care for the smut,** and I know you're out there, the cut version of the chapter can be found at my live journal Username: orochimaru-han cutting out the smut will make no difference on the rest of the story, in fact this chapter was written without it first then I went back in and added it. You don't need to stop reading due to this chapter if you enjoy the story and plot, and I hope you will continue.

* * *

Mayuri glanced at the reports again, tossing the papers he'd read to the side where Nemu picked them out of the air and sometimes off the floor. When the third piece out of more than twenty landed without her fingers so much as grazing it, it was obvious she wasn't up to par.

"You stupid bitch, those are important documents you're leaving on the ground." He growled, aiming a kick at her.

"Yes Mayuri-sama." She bowed, probably using her hair to hide the grimace on her face from his kick. She was too weak, as well; he'd have to fix that if he wanted her to be of any use to him.

The information he had on Inoue Orihime was little. He'd managed to observe her some while she was here in Soul Society, and less than some while she was in her own world. She was clever, and didn't use her powers often, probably trying to keep them secret. Still, he wasn't the only one to notice she had a very unique ability, and unfortunately Aizen Sosuke had gotten to her first. Hopefully, he'd done nothing to contaminate the subject.

He had no end of information on Kurosaki Ichigo, though. He was another mistake, just like the Vizards, but he was different. Mayuri'd monitored the boy's reiatsu readings for a while, just like he had watched everyone in the living world after that little visit to Soul Society. It was also very interesting that the Quincy had gained his powers back. If he weren't so boring, that might warrant looking into as well.

Mayuri did admit that he was a little interested in the boy turned Vizard, because he wasn't even that anymore. It had changed, the Hollow part becoming more pronounced, until it more resembled an Arrancar reiatsu. Similar as the two were, there were distinct differences. However, it hadn't stopped there; no, it had changed again, this time in a way that didn't match either creation.

If he denounced Kurosaki Ichigo as a Vizard, he would be treated as the others were. If he announced him as an Arrancar, Kurosaki would be hunted down and killed with the rest of them, a traitor to Soul Society for working with Aizen Sosuke. But what would he call him now? How would he be classified? Knowing the old man, it would simply be as a threat, the appropriate reaction to kill him on sight. That would be a waste- a chance for some experimentation should never be left alone.

He was still useful though; the way Abarai Renji's reiatsu had faded until it was a weak pulse, barely traceable, then how it had moved off some way and disappeared completely was a curiosity. With what he had, it was too easy to call Kurosaki a murderer. Once he had everyone's attention focused on the boy, who would notice the scientist taking in an extra experiment subject? Even if that subject had been a focus of attention not long before.

------

"Hey!" Ichigo shouted, voice quickly lost in the space between the sideways structures. The dark clouds roiling across the sky were reflected in the glass panes beneath his feet. "Hey, I know you're in here! There's nowhere else for you to go!" A loud thunder clap was his only reply.

It was threatening rain, promising a torrent at any moment. Ichigo ignored it, because it reflected the anxiety he had begun to feel, and he refused to believe that the Hollow could make him feel anything but angry and annoyed. He raced along the building tops, searching in the gaps between structures as he went. It was barren. Nothing but glass and concrete. The growing shadows were ominous as they played tricks on his mind, making him see things that weren't there. Things that couldn't be there.

Where the hell could he be hiding? Why was he hiding? Had something happened that he wasn't aware of, something to cause this echoing silence? "Damn it, asshole. What the fuck is wrong with you?" One of his hands unconsciously came up to grip the hilt of his sword, the other balling into a fist so tight that his blunt nails cut into the palm of his hand.

The sky was nearly black, but still the rain held out, and Ichigo continued his frantic search. He yelled and he ran, examining every shadow in the endless expanse. Hours seemed to pass, but nothing changed, and Ichigo wasn't sure how far he'd gone, or if he'd been running in circles. He was lost in his own inner world, lost and alone.

Drained, he let himself drop, the sound of his sword hitting the concrete lost in a distant thunder clap. His breathing came in labored gasps, and his legs shook from the strain he'd put on them. All of that and for nothing. Maybe he finally was alone.

"Damn it." He muttered in a voice so low it barely reached his ears. "Damn it, damn it, damn it!" He slammed his fist into the building each time he spoke, leaving a red smear against the dark surface. The pain in his hand was a welcome distraction, giving him something else to concentrate on as he fell back, eyes staring blankly at the sideways cityscape.

The fist drops stung, given force by the wind that kicked up, whipping across the monotonous skyscrapers' surface and howling in Ichigo's ears like wicked laughter. Each drop left a black spot on the buildings until none of the original color remained, the world having become a black and desolate place.

He lay there, letting the rain come over him, soaking through his Shihakusho and leaving him cold and shivering. The world around was sucking the warmth from his bones. Lightning arced through the clouds, tracing patterns in the glass and streams of water. Each flash caused the shadows to bend and twist, reaching out as if to drag Ichigo down to hell with them, a place that existed here in his own soul.

Let them. What was there to lose now? He'd given up his freedom to save his friends, forsaking family and companions to do what only he could do. He'd shut himself off from the world, and even then he'd lost what little he'd gained from doing that. What he'd sacrificed to gain was a moody, untrustworthy, hungry soul that only worked for it's own gain and only when it felt like it.

"What am I doing?" He asked himself out loud, blinking water from his eyes, the drops lost in the water pouring over his face. He couldn't give in. Couldn't because that would destroy the last scrap of his tattered pride, the only thing he had to hold on to. Frustration, anger, confusion, hopelessness... whatever it was he was feeling he'd let the sky express for him, because he wasn't allowed to do it himself.

Ichigo closed his eyes and let the rain wash over him.

------

Urahara looked over the message again and shook his head. He knew what was going on, but right now was not the time to interfere. Soul Society could make their own mistakes, but this might be the one they couldn't recover from, if they went through with it. Ichigo was not someone they should add to their list of enemies- the boy was taking steps beyond what they'd seen in the past.

He hadn't missed the little mention of his former Division's part in the matter. Mayuri must have seen an opportunity for research somewhere in all this, but it wasn't as if he didn't have information on Vizards, and there would be plenty of material to spare once Aizen was dealt with. So what did he stand to gain by this? Maybe the thing Aizen had stolen?

Urahara shook his head, Mayuri couldn't be foolish enough to try for that… but he was often blinded by his own ambitions- a flaw they had in common on some points.

Luckily, he still had his contacts in Soul Society. This letter was a useful bit of information. He would keep it to himself for now; he would see where this was all going before he would decide if he wanted to correct some minor details in the information that had been handed out. He also wanted to see what Yamamoto would do, and more importantly, he wanted to see what Yamamoto was doing now. The old man kept his agenda hidden, and was very set in his ways, whatever those may be.

He snapped his fan open, covering the lower half of his face as he turned. "Okay, everyone. There's work to be done. I don't want anything getting through that barrier, either of them; Jinta, you help with that." Before he had even finished speaking they were on the move. "Oh, and Ururu, go and check on our guest. See if there's been any improvement in his condition."

The staff of his store was so hard working. He couldn't be more proud of them sometimes.

------

It was quiet, all for but the sound of the rain. It had been like this for a while- he couldn't tell how long anymore. It was dark and wet, except for the occasional lightning flash that was so bright, he could see them even through his closed eyes, cracking through the air close enough that each one left him deaf for a few moments.

"Oi, how long are you going to lie there like that?"

Ichigo wasn't sure he'd heard right, or if he was hearing things, or if it was the storm playing more tricks on his already strained mind. He closed his eyes tighter, trying to will his mind back toward sanity.

"Hey, I'm talking to you," The voice persisted, strangely clear, though he couldn't hear his own breathing over the sound of the drumming rain. "Don't cause such a scene and then act like you don't know I'm talking to you. I'll fucking kill you and get it over with." Something jabbed him hard in the side.

He cracked open his eyes, water running into them and blurring his vision. Still, he could make out the stark white form leaning over his, and the two black holes that had to be eyes. "Where have you been?" He grumbled, sitting up.

"Trying to think of the best way to deal with an idiot." The Hollow plopped down next to him, resting his chin in one hand. His normally white hair looked light grey from the water plastering it to his head. He frowned at Ichigo, looking him over like a piece of meat at the butcher shop. "Not exactly an easy task."

"So you decided to disappear. Did it work?" Ichigo spat. He'd sat there letting his mind drift for so long he'd forgotten his anger, but it was very quickly coming back.

Black and gold eyes narrowed into a sharp glare. "That's what I'm here to find out. I should just kill you, since you didn't get the message the first time. I'm feeling kind today though, and not just hungry, so I'll give you half a chance."

"What message? What the hell are you talking about?"

Ichigo wasn't sure exactly what happened, but the next thing he knew he was on his back again and the Hollow was sitting on his chest, hands planted on either side of Ichigo's head, using his knees to pin Ichigo's arms to his side. Angry eyes framed in a ghostly face floated inches above his own; his skin nearly burned from the Hollow's breath against it, the rain having sucked away all his warmth. "Now, we're going to have a little talk, and if you don't understand by the time I get fed up with this I'm just going to kill you, because you're too damned stupid to let live."

Ichigo struggled against the Hollow, but he couldn't get the leverage to throw him off. "Get off of me." He growled through gritted teeth, trying to wiggle one of his hands free to get to the sword underneath him.

"No. Look at yourself! I could kill you now and have everything here for myself. So you just stay put. You're too weak to do anything else." A smirk twisted across black lips, but it was bitter and lacking in any sort of mirth. "You were so easy to tear down. I should have tried this from the start."

Ichigo stopped struggling, deciding that at least if he pretended to relax, the Hollow might let his guard down enough to show an opening. "Fine. What the hell do you have to say that couldn't be said days ago?"

"What I've been saying from the start, Aibou." The last word was a mockery. "That if you want my power you've got to play by my rules. It's not like I just say 'oh here, take what you need'. 'S not how this works."

"I have been playing by your rules; I haven't even come close to breaking your fucking contract. I've been so careful you couldn't find a loophole if you tried." Ichigo had been jumping at shadows to make sure there wasn't any excuse. And he would keep his word if the bastard kept his, but, just as he should have guessed, it wasn't looking that way.

"Oh, no, you've been real good. Not letting anyone touch you but me, but you seemed to forget what else I said." He leaned forward so their foreheads touched, voice lowering to a whisper. "If you're going to use my power, then you're going to belong to me. That means you don't get to tell me to leave you alone, or keep my hands off you; no, it means I'm the only one who gets to and you don't have a fucking say in the matter."

Ichigo shifted uncomfortably, more than one argument coming to mind, but he let the Hollow talk.

"I said something else too, you might remember it from that fight with that ugly blue haired guy that likes you so much." The fight with Grimmjow had been the only real one they'd had so far, the first and only time they'd actually worked together. "I'm sure you remember the little discussion we had then. Or you should remember, but I can't underestimate the power of your stupidity."

Ichigo did remember- the Hollow had been pissed off because he'd been calling on his powers the same way he'd done before. So he'd taken control and told Ichigo to work with him or he'd let him die. "I remember it."

"Oh, good. Then you remember that you're not just using me in this. I'm not here to be used by anyone, especially not you. I'll help you if I damn well please, but you seem to have missed the message." He sat up, tilting his face towards the darkened sky. "This is my world, the whole of it. Everything I know, I know through you, and I know everything about you, but nothing else." He glanced back at Ichigo, looking down his nose at him. "Now, I should be your world, you should only know what I know, you should only know things through me. If you want an equal share in power, you should have an equal share in suffering, and I should have my share of freedom."

"How do you expect me to give you that? I can't just let you do whatever you want; how do I know you won't murder people in their sleep?" This was ridiculous. Hadn't he already given up his freedom to this psycho? What else was he going to demand? "I let you have your say, but you haven't given your part of the deal yet."

"I can't just give you power! It doesn't work that way. You can't try and suppress me and use my full strength at the same time. You have to let me be completely free, no restraints. You have to let me into your head, use our body as I want." For a moment the Hollow seemed as if he was going to just rip Ichigo's head off and be done with it, but his voice came back to a normal speaking level as he continued, the shifts in that otherworldly voice unnerving. "You have to trust me."

Ichigo wanted to say 'I can't' but the words caught in his throat. This was his dilemma: he couldn't just let the Hollow do whatever he wanted unchecked. That would be as good as admitting defeat and locking himself in this world while the crazy, heartless killer did what he wanted on the outside. Yet, he knew the truth of what he was hearing. A dog on a leash was far less effective at guarding a house than a dog let loose in the yard, but how would he know this one wouldn't turn and bite him instead? "It's not that easy."

"Yes it is." He shook his head, water droplets flying from his hair. The twisted expression on that pale face was a cross between murderous intent and tried patience. "For a second you were there, when you just let yourself enjoy a fight and forgot all about who and what you were fighting. You almost killed that fucker too. You should have. They were going to kill you." He was referring to the fight with the Vizard, just before he admitted to them his deal with the Hollow. The memory of that moment seemed fond to him, though Ichigo had been horrified with his actions once he realized that he could have easily been killed. "You let me in then, didn't try and hold me back." His hand came up to rest on Ichigo's throat. "I could have had it then, your body and your throne."

Ichigo swallowed. The Hollow could easily have the life choked out of him right now, and he wasn't so sure he'd be able to escape. "Why didn't you take it?"

"Because that isn't what I want right now. I've got bigger plans, and I for those I need you to stick around for a while longer." He looked back to the sky again. "The rain is letting up." Blue tongue peeked out to capture a drop of water running across his black lips. Sure enough, the clouds were less dense than before, and the heavy downpour was more of a constant drizzle. "You only listen when it's raining. That's a fucking annoying habit. You should fix it."

"I'll work on it." Ichigo offered, but at least for the moment he was sure the immediate threat to his life had passed. He didn't comment on the Hollow's inability to listen at all. Constantly making trouble, and showing up where he wasn't wanted. "But what grantee do I have that this isn't your way of getting to be King?"

He pushed his wet hair back off his forehead, giving Ichigo an unreadable look. "You don't. You can't know if anything I say here is a lie. But isn't that the point? You just have to take my word for it." A grin spread across his face, one that would have sent shivers down Ichigo's spine if he weren't already shivering from the cold. "What I want, and what I'll do to get it are things you'll just have to guess at, Aibou."

Ichigo was silent for a while, golden eyes staring at him. He'd been debating his decision since he'd made it in the beginning, but it seemed that he still had yet to really settle on an answer. Now was the time for him to choose what he was going to do, and how he was going to fight this war. Maybe it wasn't too late to go back, but as time passed the best option was to go forward. "Fine." A huge weight felt like it was lifted off his shoulders as he made his commitment. "I'll trust you."

"Good. Because I'm not giving you a choice anymore." That same twisted, wide smile that he was so used to seeing returned to the Hollows' face. The smile that Ichigo could never tell if it meant good for him or a knife in the ribs, only that the Hollow was in his equivalent of a good mood. That on its own was a scary thought. "Now I'm sick of this place. I'm getting out of here." He didn't stand or walk away; he just faded out, into reality.

It took Ichigo a moment to pull himself back together again, but then he too went back into the world, where it was warm and dry. He was still laying on his futon, just as he had been however long ago, completely dry but still shivering from the cold of the other world. It was dark, no lights on, but he could still make out the ghostly form not far from him. He practically seemed to glow in the low lighting.

The Hollow was sitting next to him like he had been earlier, but this time on the other side. "You're slow, but if you like it in there with the rain so much you don't have to come back." He titled his head to one side. "I can watch things here."

"I think I prefer it out here." He sat up, stretching his sore and unused muscles. He yawned, despite not having left his bed all day. Being in there apparently didn't equal real rest out here. "But I think I'm going to get some sleep." It was nearly pitch black, only the light from the moon and stars through the small window providing any light to see by. It had to be pretty late at night.

"Scoot over." The Hollow demanded. "Don't just take the whole bed for yourself."

"W-what?" Ichigo stuttered, not sure he had heard right. No, he was sure he had not heard right.

"I'm not sleeping on the hard floor if I don't have to, and I'm not going back in there." He pushed Ichigo aside, climbing under the covers and making himself comfortable. "This bed is mine now. If you don't like it, you sleep on the floor. But you can't have any of my blankets."

Ichigo stared down and the Hollow stared defiantly up. Shrugging his shoulders and heaving a sigh he settled back down too, facing away from the crazy white bastard. He nearly jumped out of his skin when an arm snaked around his waist. "What are you doing?" His voice was a harsh whisper, afraid that any louder it would crack and reveal his embarrassment.

"Whatever I want." The Hollow snuggled closer, if Hollows could do something like snuggle. "I told you, my power will belong to you, but you belong to me." The hair stood on the back of Ichigo's neck as warm breath washed over it.

He tried to lie still, but it was difficult with another person wrapped around him. The feel was foreign to him in more than one way. He shifted a little, trying to get comfortable, but it wasn't going to happen like this. Tonight it seemed he wasn't going to sleep at all.

The thought was backed by the Hollow's hand sliding up and down his stomach, calloused palm pressed against his abdomen. He bit back the words trying to escape his mouth, the same question from before because he knew the answer was the same.

His hair stood on end as nails scraped over his skin, not roughly, but in a way that sent shocks through him. It didn't feel bad, but that was all the more reason for him to want to pull away and run. "Uh…" How to stop this, this, whatever it was without causing another fight?

"Trust me, Aibou." The Hollow grabbed his shoulder, pulling him onto his back and moved so that he was straddling his stomach, this time leaving his arms free. He leaned down and bit the side of Ichigo's neck, again not hard, but he jumped. The Hollow laughed.

"This is a bad idea." What he wanted to say was 'stop' or 'get the hell away from me' but he'd seen how demands like that ended up already. But he felt very naked, wearing only his undergarments that he'd slept in the night before. He didn't think it was necessary to get dressed to dive into his own soul. How wrong he'd been.

"Why?" Ichigo's cheeks grew hot as he tried to find an answer that would work. He wasn't stupid, he had a pretty good idea of what was going on. When he didn't answer the Hollow smirked down at him, a look that said 'you can't escape'. "Is it because you're a virgin? So am I, in case you were unaware of how that worked. Is it because it's me? Well you might as well get used to it; I'm all you've got."

Now he knew exactly where this was going, he was stupid, he hadn't thought he'd dare push that far. "Y-you, we, can't do this. It's just wrong." He insisted, hoping to find some way out of this then block the memory from his mind forever.

Pale hands slid up his sides, and the Hollow bit him again, sucking on his collar bone. "Don't play like you have moral with me, just because you're scared." His blue tongue traced along his collar bone to the other side of his neck. "You can fool others into thinking you don't care, but I know you've had dreams, and you can't pretend you've never been attracted to anyone." His mouth went to Ichigo's ear, making him shudder. "Like that girl."

Ichigo's blood ran cold; he didn't want to think about that, he'd already given it up. "I know that." He was a teenage boy, despite having so much he needed to do, so many he needed to protect. He hadn't really thought about a girlfriend with the way things were going, but that didn't mean it couldn't have happened. It could have happened, but he'd walked away from it because there was no other choice. "That doesn't mean I want this."

He could feel the grin on the Hollows face pressed against his neck. "This isn't about what you want. If it were I wouldn't be here in the first place, would I?" When Ichigo didn't answer the Hollow continued on. Tracing over every inch of Ichigo's skin with his tongue, or so it felt like, with the lightest scrape of teeth.

Ichigo tried to ignore it, just push it out of his mind, but his body betrayed him. So long with only abuse it responded to those touches despite what his mind told it. He bit his lower lip, arching into the touch, and when the Hollow pinched one of his nipples he moaned, turning his face away out of shame. Things got worse from there.

Nails traced over his skin, leaving red lines in their wake, creating a feeling somewhere between pain and pleasure. The blanket was kicked off during his squirming, and he twisted the sheets in his hands trying to keep them, and himself, in check. Ichigo squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block it all out, but nothing worked.

The Hollow stretched out over him, grinding their hips together even as his mouth continued to assault Ichigo's skin, biting down and sucking bruises everywhere he could reach, marking it all as his own. The air left his lungs at the sensation, like lightning through every nerve in his body. He couldn't stand it and his hips thrust upward, seeking more of that feeling. Another moan escaped his lips, but he didn't notice this time.

The Hollow ground against him again, and again, Ichigo losing himself in the sensation, it fogging his mind. He wanted more, he needed it.

His hands came up, scratching down the other's back, pulling at the cloth there. Unlike himself the Hollow still had on quite a bit of clothing. He was awkward, but he knew how all the ties worked, and was working as quickly as he could to get that hot material out of the way. Laughing the Hollow helped, letting himself be stripped of his clothing one layer at a time. Once his upper body was free he continued his attack finding Ichigo's ear and distracting him by tracing it with teeth and tongue.

Down to a single piece of clothing each they writhed against each other, one desperate and the other possessive. Hands and mouths covering every inch of flesh they could reach, eliciting gasps and moans from the other. The Hollow moved his way lower, keeping Ichigo pinned to the futon despite his efforts to reverse their positions. He moved until he was level with his hips, pulling away the last scrap of decency left to the teen.

The grin the Hollow wore showed what seemed to be every last one of his teeth, and Ichigo remembered how dangerous he really was, suddenly remembering his reservations. He didn't have time to speak them, as soon as he opened his mouth the Hollows surrounded him, swallowing his erection as far as he could. He arched into the feeling, white hands pressing his hips back down, it even felt good when the other's throat constricted around him for a moment.

Ichigo was at a loss for words, the warmth around him forcing every thought from his mind. Two pale fingers pressed at his lips, and he pulled them into his mouth wrapping his tongue around them to distract himself, to keep himself from coming because he wanted this to last longer.

The fingers were pulled away, and he didn't realize what they had been for until they had snuck under him and were pressing inside of him in a place he was pretty sure they didn't belong. He jumped, sitting up and trying to pull away. "You can't do that." His voice was a lot breathier than it should have been, it was hard to talk.

The Hollow just lifted one white eyebrow at Ichigo. "Of course I can." He planted his free hand in the middle of Ichigo's chest and pushed him back down. "Just lay there and relax." He gave him a menacing smile. "Or you're not going to like me very much."

Ichigo neglected to mention that he didn't like the Hollow at all as he tried to force the tension out of him, but that was anything far from easy as a single digit pushed its way inside of him, wriggling around uncomfortably. He tried to lie as still as he could, forcing himself to relax as best as he could manage. The idea of the damage that could be caused right now if he decided to fight was not pretty, so he'd have to just let this happen.

The second finger was worse than the first, hurting a little, and his saliva had grown cold in that short span of time, it moved it's way in next to the first, both of them moving inside of him in a place he'd never wanted to feel anything moving. He adjusted after a moment, to were it was just weird instead of painful, they moved with a scissor like motion, stretching him wider and he grew more and more nervous as he realized where this was going, and how quickly they were getting there.

Just as he was thinking about protesting, one of the Hollows long fingers brushed against… something, it made lights go off behind Ichigo's eyes, and he wasn't sure if he'd made a noise or not, or if his heart had skipped a beat for a moment there. "F-fuck…" He managed to grit out between gasps for air.

"In a moment." He brushed against that spot in Ichigo again, his back arching clear off the futon.

"Oh my God." Ichigo's voice broke, the words coming out in some sort of harsh whisper.

The fingers slipped out of Ichigo, leaving him desperate and with an oddly empty feeling. He looked at the Hollow, who was sitting between his legs with a look that reminded him of a cat who'd caught a mouse. "I knew you'd agree that that was a much better name for me."

"That's not what I meant." Ichigo snapped at him, face flushed. It was surreal seeing the white form over him, one that looked just like him only not, like a twisted dream that he was sure he would wake up from before it went too far.

It didn't stop though, and he knew it wasn't going to as he watched the other spit in his hand and reach between his own legs then felt the tip of the Hollow's erection press against his widened entrance. Now it had become an entrance anyway. Slowly it pushed inside of him, and where he'd thought the fingers were bad before, it had nothing on this. It stretched him, and filled him until he thought he couldn't take any more.

It hurt.

He wanted it to stop, felt his own erection dying from the pain of it. It knocked the air right out of his lungs though, so he couldn't even voice a complaint. When the movement slowly stopped, the pain ebbed until he could stand it. Opening his eyes to see where he had his legs, he found them wrapped around pale hips, pressed as close as they could be between them. Ichigo reminded himself to relax, taking deep breaths to calm himself down.

The Hollow didn't move, and the thought crossed him as odd, but he stayed still, only trailing his hands over Ichigo's torso, fingers tracing the marks he had left there. And after a minute it didn't hurt at all anymore, wasn't really bad, it was just there.

So Ichigo shifted his hips, trying to get more comfortable with all his weight on his lower back in this position. As soon as he moved the Hollow did too, pulling his hips back again slowly and pressing back in. That didn't feel bad at all.

The Hollow continued thrusting in and out, picking up the pace with each turn. Ichigo found his own erection returning and writhed beneath the other, gasping and moaning at the odd sensation of this. But he wanted that feeling again, the one from before that had nearly driven him over the edge, and he shifted and arched trying to get the Hollow to reach that spot.

Bracing himself up with one hand, the Hollow hooked his other arm under one of Ichigo's legs, pulling it up and changing his angle, hitting deeper. Ichigo pulled himself closer with the leg still around his hip and then he saw stars. Bolts of pleasure raced through every nerve in his body with each thrust, forcing cries out of his lungs each time. Like this he thought he would die. Over and over again until with one final thrust, deeper than the last, the Hollow shuddered and came inside of him. That last bit pushed him over the edge too, and he came all over his own stomach.

He hardly noticed as the Hollow pulled out of him, collapsing next to him. All of his energy was suddenly sapped, and his limbs felt heavy.. Ichigo did have the mind to grope around and find a piece of cloth to wipe himself off with, not liking the idea of going to sleep a sticky mess. He managed to find the blanket again and pull it over them, already drifting off.

As they lay there like that Ichigo decided it wasn't entirely uncomfortable, even if it was one of the stranger things that had happened to him. But it wasn't the strangest, he was certain. It was easier than it should have been to let go of his worries over being killed at any moment. He had struggled with them for so long it was a relief to decide he could do this. Though none of this altered his plans- he was still going to do what needed to be done and then remove himself from the world, because allowing himself to trust the Hollow meant he was more a threat to anyone around him than they could hope to be to him. He also came to the conclusion that this would not turn out like he'd been afraid it would, he wouldn't let it, and if by some chance he did he decided he trusted the others enough to kill him before it got bad.

He drifted off to sleep, glad to put one battle behind him, because tomorrow a whole other one was going to begin. He was ready to go to Hueco Mundo, and end this for good.


	14. Now for the Easy Part

**Author's note: **So here at last, an update. I won't make any excuses this time, I'm just lazy. However I do plan to finish this story up within the next six chapters, and don't plan to put that off for too long. Look forward to it.

* * *

"Good, good, I see you're finally improving," Urahara sheathed his zanpakuto and leaned on the cane casually. The upper portion of his face remained hidden in shadow under the brim of his striped hat, the shade dark from the bright, never setting, desert sun, but the lower half had a pleased look about it; a lopsided smile to show his satisfaction.

Ichigo smirked, the haughty self confidence that the Hollow felt influencing his own. He slung his over-sized sword across one shoulder. He hadn't used bankai and yet the difference in his power level was something he couldn't help but be impressed with. Or maybe it was the Hollow's arrogance; it was getting hard to tell which belonged to whom. Although he'd allowed himself to trust the other, he wouldn't say he gave in, that was too much like losing; as such it had become something of cohabitation where they shared a body rather than just the mind. He'd always known the Hollow could tell his thoughts and read his emotions, but never put much thought into it.

Now, it was different; he understood that there were limitations to the extent in which they shared things, but he could feel the Hallow in a ways he hadn't been aware of before. Ichigo could feel him watching, feel his restlessness, but most of all he'd become aware of the gnawing hunger that clawed at the Hollow inside him. Like a void behind his ribcage, the hole that appeared to be in Arrancar and Hollows, it selfishly demanded to be filled, always lurking on the edge of his mind. Ichigo only felt it through the other; he knew it wasn't the full extent of what that emptiness could be, and that thought made him shudder.

"_We could show him what we're really capable of_." The Hollow suggested, the adrenaline in his blood surging at the prospect of a real fight.

"No." Ichigo found it more difficult than ever to keep silent in his conversations; whereas before it was just strange addressing a voice in his head, like a schizophrenic, now it was much more like addressing another person outside his body. "We need him to get into Hueco Mundo, there's no other way in for us," Even with the disappointment he somehow felt at turning down the opportunity to fight, he couldn't forget his goal; his friends. He would save them, he'd already paid the price to do so, and otherwise it would just be a waste.

"I'm almost ready," In just a few days he'd reach his self-inflicted deadline, days he planned on using to their full advantage. He'd thought he'd been wasting his time up until now, but things were unexpectedly turning to his favor. Ichigo was sure he could defeat Aizen and his Espada- not sure like he had been the last time when he'd nearly gotten everyone killed –no, this time he knew what he was up against and intended to make them regret ever hurting those he cared for.

"You'll be leaving tomorrow," Urahara stated as he pulled out his little white fan, but left it unopened. "So I suggest you eat a good meal and get extra sleep tonight." He resembled a parent before the night of a big test at school, almost in a mocking way though it was hard to tell from his tone of voice.

Ichigo's brows knit together, as if trying to decide if this was some sort of joke- or blatant disregard for his opinion on the matter. It was always difficult to tell what Urahara was thinking, and even more problematic to gather information from the man. He often came off as an all knowing and secretive figure, and Ichigo was inclined to believe it on some points... and on others, Ichigo thought Urahara was as clueless as the rest of them.

"_Aibou, I've been telling you we don't need this practicing shit. I could level that place in ten minutes_," It was a whisper in Ichigo's ear accompanied by a firm hand on his shoulder, though he knew it was just an impression on his mind. "_Why even wait another day? Let's go now_." And it wasn't that Ichigo disagreed, he was confident that they would succeed; but considering that he felt just as powerful and uplifted the last time, he was determined to take precautions. He would only have to find and protect Orihime rather than watch the backs of all his friends… though that hadn't been planned either.

Ichigo shook his head, trying to think clearly on the matter. This wasn't something he should rush, when he jumped in headfirst things had a history of not quite working out, and the probability of failing skyrocketed. He knew he could not- would not -fail this time, there was no question of that. Ichigo just wanted to be absolutely prepared. It would be one fight after another until he'd killed every Arrancar that got in his way, after all. He had to know his powers and their limitations.

"I don't think you understand," Urahara's smile never faltered. "If you stay here any longer I'm going to start charging rent and storage fees." He waved the still unopened fan in an all-inclusive gesture. "You can't begin to imagine how much it takes to keep this place.

Ichigo didn't know what to say to that. The Hollow, however, howled with laughter, prodding at Ichigo. "So you have two choices, we eat him and keep out of debt or we fight." Like before, the emptiness inside of him threatened to overwhelm his mind at the mention of eating another's soul. It subsided quickly, receding back to the shadow of what he felt from the Hollow, but it served as a reminder. Renji's betrayal fresh in his memory, Ichigo made up his mind.

"Fine, I'm ready." Even if he wasn't he wouldn't try and look for an excuse to go back, because that's what he'd been doing in the past; making up lame excuses to escape his responsibilities. He was through with that. The hardest part was over, and now he just had to go and do the work. This was the only thing left to him, and he wouldn't quit until it was done; until he came out victorious, or laid out dead.

"Then I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning," With a cheerfulness that sent shivers down Ichigo's spine, Urahara returned make his way back to the shop above the underground training room.

---------

It felt like she'd been biting her nails forever. Sitting there, behind a mountain of documents that she forgot almost as soon as she read, Rukia could only worry about the ultimatum that had been handed to her. Sacrifice one friend for another. Could she really betray them, wouldn't doing nothing be a form of betrayal as well? How was she supposed to choose when they both meant so much to her? It was too much for one person.

She had come to the conclusion that either choice she made would result in leaving Soul Society once again. She was prepared to fight for them no matter the cost; they had done so for her and she would return the favor ten times over, if needs be. Although, this time she doubted she could count on Byakuya to help her out; he'd already put himself on the line for them and had been watching her like a hawk. She could feel his eyes on her all the time, almost like he was waiting for her to put a foot out of line. She knew how important acting properly was- that being adopted into the Kuchiki family came with a lot of responsibility -and he had protected her many times. She looked up to him in a way she couldn't explain; after he told her about her sister she knew he wasn't as strict as he came off to be; he was protecting her. Her heart nearly stopped beating at the thought of disappointing him again; she hoped he didn't label her actions as unappreciative or, even worse, traitorous. She had to choose between three important people.

As if thinking of him had summoned him, Byakuya entered the room as graceful and silent as could be. Startled, Rukia jumped in her seat, nearly knocking over a stack of papers before her. "N-Tiachou," She corrected herself, remembering that he was her Captain while in the Sixth division.

His dark eyes settled on her for a moment before he turned to take a seat at his desk. She had to have imagined the crease in his brow when he looked at her then. There was no trace of any such thing when he faced her again from across the room, looking over what had been placed there this morning and picking up a brush to begin the tedious work running a division warranted. Rukia tried to look busy, failing to focus on her own work.

It was quiet all but for the occasional rustle of papers. She was lost in thought, trying to decide what the best course of action would be- if there was a best course of action, of course. There was no distinction between right and wrong pertaining to this situation, and that only proved to make it more difficult to decide. These were the people in which she owed so much to, in so many ways.

"Something you don't understand?" Her head shot up, eyes wide.

"What," Her thoughts stumbling over them-selves, realizing only after she had spoken what he'd said. She was chewing on her nails again; a horrible habit to have developed so suddenly- it was a dead giveaway that she wasn't concentrating on what was in front of her.

"Is there something you don't understand about your work? You seem confused," He repeated.

"Ah, um, no," She made a big show of signing and moving onto the next thing, even if she hadn't read it, or maybe she had, she couldn't remember because she was so preoccupied

Byakuya returned to his work, yet she had the distinct feeling that he was keeping an eye on her even more keenly now. She couldn't say he was concerned, because she never understood what was going through his head, most likely he was watching for mistakes. Even then she respected him for that. She knew he didn't judge her when he observed her in such a way- she didn't feel violated or anxious, unlike other people subjugated to his stare. In fact, if anything it made her feel competitive; like she wanted to do her very best and impress him. Rukia could almost laugh at the look he would have on his face if she ever told him that.

She wished Renji were here, at least she could tell him what was bothering her, as friends she didn't hesitate to confide in him and he never ceased to comfort her in his own brash way. The silence was getting to her and she was tired of pretending to do work when her mind stubbornly remained somewhere else entirely. She couldn't even imagine talking to Byakuya the same way she spoke to her childhood friend, nor could she imagine that he would tell her everything would be alright and she'd do the right thing. No, he would tell her that she was to do nothing; maybe he'd do something about it in his own way, like he had done before. It surprised her and yet annoyed her- she was glad that he cared enough to help her, but he didn't understand that this was something she had to do for herself. She mentally shook her head; wishful thinking was not the answer here, she couldn't confide in him about such a subject.

So the day crept along like that; seconds dragging into minutes, minutes crawling to hours. Pretending to work was killing her nearly as much as the rest that had been dumped on her shoulders. As she stared blankly at page after page she felt as if she were being watched, that instead of Byakuya being on the other side of the room he was looming over her shoulder. It was paranoia, she knew, every time she glanced up his eyes were fixed on something of import that had found its way to his desk. He wasn't the type to breathe down someone's neck, and if she were performing at less than standard he wouldn't quietly stand by, he would make his disappointment on the matter apparent in some way.

As the sun began to set, casting an orange glow into the small room, the elongated shadows stretched across the floor signaling an end to their day. With a barely suppressed sigh of relief Rukia stood; ready to get out of there. There was still someone she could talk to about this, even if he was no longer her captain, she still looked up to and respected him; Ukitake was another good friend, and at the moment, she needed his calm and intelligent reasoning to help her through.

"Head straight back home," Halfway out the door her adopted brother's voice caught her in her tracks. She turned to face him, confusion written on her face.

"Nii-sama," She had a curfew, but it wasn't in effect for another few hours at the very least. As unrelenting as he tended to be, he normally didn't interfere with her free time.

"I have something I need to speak with you about." He finally said after a few moments. Though he didn't say so, she could tell that it was something important. She'd known him long enough to read little things like that at least.

She bowed, more to hide the look on her face than out of politeness. "Then I will be waiting for you there." She had a bad feeling.

------

There was nothing Ichigo needed to take with him; he had no possessions left to him, yet still he felt as if he were forgetting something as he readied himself. He double-checked and everything; from how securely his waraji were tied to the wrapping on his zanpakuto. It was finally time to finish what he had started just a few weeks ago.

"_Nervous, Aibou_?" There was a tremor of excitement in the twisted voice, the thrill of the fight coming over him already. It took some of the ice out of Ichigo's blood; he was looking forward to it, to swinging his sword with abandon, he just needed to admit it to himself.

"Not at all, why, are you?" He threw back, a grin spreading over his face. There was nothing to worry about anymore, he knew. He'd left everything behind, and now all he had to do was keep moving forward. This was just another battle in the face of endless ones to come, ones he would rush to meet.

Echoing laughter rang in his ears. "_You wish_." Black and Yellow eyes stared at him from a pale white face as a mirror image of himself took form before him. Similar to the expression he himself wore, a toothy, self-assured smirk adorned the Hollow's face. "_You better not disappoint me."_

"We're going to get our fill and then some, don't worry." Ichigo couldn't say he wasn't excited, adrenaline already started to pump through his veins; the chance to let loose and not worry about how the others were doing and just fight… He had a few scores to settle, after all, and was looking forward to paying them back.

The Hollow folded his arms and cocked his head to the side, raising one eyebrow. _"Damn right, because I won't let you quit until I'm satisfied_." He was never satisfied, just by the nature of what he was, but Ichigo didn't disagree with the idea.

The shoji door slid open as the ghostly figure faded away again. "Are you ready?" Jinta asked impatiently, as full of himself as always.

"Let's go." He and his partner answered together, voices melding into one.

-----

Rukia paced back and forth as she waited. Already changed for the evening, she fiddled with the sleeves of her yukata, fighting the urge to chew her nails. She had made up her mind while she walked home, in the face of more bad news she knew was to come. She would go and help save Orihime, and let her make the final decision. They both cared deeply for Ichigo, and it was really her call to make, not Rukia's.

Now all that was left to do was leave, she could sneak away now, but first she would listen to what Byakuya had to say. Something told her it was important information, something she needed to know before she left. So tomorrow morning she would disappear and face whatever consequences or punishment when she returned. She feared the disappointment she would face more, but it was necessary to do what she must.

When a servant brought fresh tea and two cups she knew Byakuya was home. The door slid open and she bowed. "Welcome home."

He normally paid close attention to formalities, but instead sat down and motioned that she should do the same. The servant poured the tea as they regarded each other wordlessly, bowing and leaving the room at Byakuya's dismissal.

There was very little that couldn't be said in front of the family servants, they had served the Kuchiki name for a long time, and were extremely loyal. They knew that their masters' affairs were just that and would think nothing of them and repeat them nowhere. Rukia was rather fond of a couple of them and knew how strong their ties to the household were

Needless to say, it did nothing to settle her nerves. There was a fluttering in her stomach, and her heart climbed into her throat. The time it took for the door to shut and the footsteps to fade was excruciatingly long

Icy demeanor flawless, she watched as he reached into the folds of his haori and pulled out a simple, folded piece of paper. He slid it over the table's surface and Rukia simply stared at it, for some reason afraid to pick it up, terrified of the contents.

With shaking hands she lifted the parchment, carefully unfolding it. It was an official statement, at first glance no different than any other, except she would have remembered reading this if it had crossed her path before now.

She read, and reread, then read again just to be sure her mind was not playing tricks on her. This couldn't be, this was a lie, this… this was… she didn't even know. She was too shocked to feel, her heart frozen solid.

Opening her mouth she remained silent as Byakuya shook his head, expression softening. He'd put himself at risk showing her this, not just because of her rank, but because of her attachment to the people involved. So instead she asked, "Why?"

"For the past few days your behavior has been odd." He chose his words carefully, knowing that anyone could be listening, and after helping her before he was already walking a fine line. "I don't know what is weighing on your mind, but I will tell you this, do not act on it. At this point there is nothing you can do to help."

She looked back down, focusing on one thing in particular. "Kurosaki Ichigo is currently held under the suspicion of the murder of Abarai Renji…" How could that be? Ichigo would never do something like that, she knew him, and it wasn't even possible. Yet something whispered in the back of her mind that he had been acting strangely since they returned from Hueco Mundo. Tears stung her eyes; she blinked furiously, trying to hold them back.

"I don't…" Her words caught in her throat, and she fixed her attention on one name in particular, Kurotsuchi Mayuri. This was his doing, he was making sure he got everything he wanted and destroying everything she had. "This is a lie, I know it is."

"I have no doubt that there is some falsehood about parts of it. However, for the time being I would like to inform you that I am looking into the matter and you should refrain from acting until we know more about the situation." Of course he wouldn't let it rest so simply, Renji was a member of his division and he would not rest until he got to the bottom of this.

She folded the paper again, handing it back, glad to have it out of her hands. For something so light it weighed so much on her that she wasn't sure she could bear the weight of it. She tried so hard to process what was going on, wondering what she could do about this. Byakuya was right, though, if she left now she'd be helping no one. She'd be putting him in danger, since he'd assumed responsibility for her actions, and Mayuri had already acted behind her back and did what he had threatened. He had planned to do it from the start, she was certain, and she had been nothing but a pawn.

Taking the warm teacup in her hand, she stared at the ripples in the liquid caused by her shaking. Ironically there was a stem floating in the murky liquid, the point toward the ceiling, as if mocking her luck.

Byakuya stood, stopping next to her on his way out. "You do not need to concern yourself over this."

She looked up at him; he kept his gaze ahead with his arms tucked into his sleeves, face impassive and lips thin. There was a reason she respected this man. "Thank you."

-------

Orihime, hands clasped at her waist, looked out the barred windows of her prison. They were there to keep her safe, more than to keep her in. She couldn't leave anyway, as Grimmjow had pointed out. Now that she thought about it, it was so obvious, but that didn't dampen her resolution. She would still follow through with her plan; she would just have to find a slightly different way of going about it.

She turned away from the sight of endless sands and a cloudless sky, the barren wasteland of Hueco Mundo was a sad sight. It could have done with some flowers, or trees, something to brighten the place up, make it more real; not so dead like the hollows that dwelled here. Though it didn't seem like the place anything would grow in, when all the inhabitants were devoid of love, or any human emotion except fear and anger.

She sunk into the oversized couch as she sat, resting her chin on an upturned palm. Her friends would come soon; they were not the kind to leave anyone behind, no matter how many attempts it took. It was sad that they would sacrifice so much for her, though she was so happy to know they cared. There were no better friends to be had. With a light snort of disgust she thought she didn't deserve them; she had abandoned them; she wasn't dragged along kicking and screaming, but had followed Ulquiorra of her own free will.

Now she planned on using them to end this once and for all. They would create the opening necessary for her to act. Somehow, someway, she would escape from her prison and the maze of ever changing hallways and destroy the weapon Aizen held above the heads of her friends, Soul Society, and her hometown.

Vaguely she wondered if Grimmjow could be counted on when the time came. At first she hated him, but now, having seen him help her- help Ichigo -she thought that there was more to him. She wondered if a hollow, with a gaping black hole in place of their heart, could help someone such as her. She didn't like admitting it, but Grimmjow reminded her of Ichigo in a way, and that's what really made her want to trust him. She knew she shouldn't, but it was a gamble she was willing to take; if nothing else, he was looking for a reason to fight Nnoitora and Ulquiorra after what had happened- but he also wanted to fight Ichigo.

Her mind was set, however, and she couldn't sit back and wait any longer. Her opening would come and then she would act, with or without anyone's help. She had people she wanted to protect and any risk was worth it, even a gamble on an Espada's loyalties- even a gamble on her life.

She picked up the edge of her skirt, flipping it so the black side faced outward. In a way it reminded her of when she and Ishida had stolen the shihakushou off of some Shinigami when they went to save Rukia. The memory brought a smile to her face. It was like that, borrowing an identity to get closer to where she needed to be. Only, then she was playing the "low ranked Shinigami just going about her duties," now she was the "defeated prisoner who wouldn't dare try anything."

Her head came up as she felt a shift in the air around her; something in Hueco Mundo had changed. She held her breath, reaching out to feel the reiatsu around her, searching for the source of excitement that had suddenly sprung up around her.

She let the breath out again in a near silent whisper. "Kurosaki kun."


	15. You Piss Me Off

Orihime's heart caught in her throat as the fighting began; reiatsu clashed together violently somewhere she couldn't see, the pressure of the two battling forces threatening, her knees shaking with fear; she'd never be able to release so much energy. The feeling was terrifying; not because of the fighting itself, but because of how Ichigo had changed.

She had begun to notice it the last time, when he fought Grimmjow, just before Ulquiorra and Nnoitora took her away. Back then it wasn't as overwhelming as this feeling now. If she didn't know Ichigo's reiatsu as well as she did- didn't know the distinct feel to it that was only him -she would have thought he was another Arrancar.

The thought alone made her want to cry. What had happened to him, what had they done to him? This had to be Aizen's fault, he'd come alone and started destroying everything, hurting everyone, and now this… Still, she trusted Ichigo, no matter what he became, no matter how frightening it was to think of him this way; because, no matter how much he changed, he would always be Kurosaki Ichigo.

With a deep breath to calm her fluttering heart, she clenched her hands into fists at her sides. Now was the time to act, not the time for silent grief, worry, or fear. She had a mission to accomplish, one that she now had the help of her friends in doing so.

The Arrancar and Espada especially, would be distracted right now. Maybe Aizen would too- maybe she could actually make it somewhere in the hallways now. It was worth a shot, because even if she got nowhere someone would find her, and then she could make them take her to where she wanted to be.

She was doing this for everyone's sake, it was something only she could do, and for that she didn't regret leaving with Ulquiorra back then. Once the Hyougoku was destroyed it wouldn't matter what happened to her, because Aizen's goal would be unreachable and Soul Society would have all the time they needed to punish him for everything he had done. This was for her friends, and all the people Aizen had hurt up until now.

He had worked so hard to steal it; plotting behind everyone's back and hurting those who trusted him the most. He'd kidnapped her, for what reason she didn't know, maybe it was just to heal the Arrancar as she had when she first arrived, but he didn't seem to think that she was the only one who could stop him. Having been told she was too weak for the front lines in battle, she now would prove just how much damage she could do.

Orihime took her first step into the hallway, resolutely setting forth to find the Hyougoku and reject it out of existence. With or without help, she would do it, even if it cost her life.

-----

It didn't take long for Ichigo to encounter his first opponent, nor was it a surprise as to who he would face irst on his return to Hueco Mundo. He had been expecting this- anticipating it even. Grimmjow stepped out of the shadows, as if he'd known exactly when and where to wait.

"Time to play," The Hollow whispered excitedly and Ichigo could feel it- the desire to draw his sword and rush into battle. He felt the same even without the Hollow's feelings seeping into him, but they only watched for now.

"You really know how to keep a guy waitin'." That cocky grin was trademarked to the Sexta Espada and he made a show of looking casual; he approached at a slow gait, with his hands shoved into the slits of his hakama, his standard pose.

"You look like shit." Ichigo replied, one hand resting on the hilt of his sword in his own casual manner. Really, it was like they weren't excited about this at all. Grimmjow was covered in more scars than Ichigo knew he had left in their last fight; many of them reminded him of medical scars, having seen more than a couple on the patients in his father's clinic; the cuts sharp and clean, straight and shallow.

Grimmjow tilted his head to the side, bright blue eyes trying to glare a hole through Ichigo. "You were so late for our date I didn't think you deserved me getting all dressed up for you." He spat out of the corner of his mouth as he continued to advance. He grew closer with each step yet he still made no moves to attack, and surprises weren't his style. He seemed to be examining Ichigo, looking at him in a way that made him feel like he was being examined like some kind of specimen. "I can still feel that little fucker from last time, hidin' in there. He's not going to get in our way again this time, is he?"

Ichigo knew he was referring to the Hollow, and how he'd taken control the last time they fought. "You don't have to worry about that, we reached an agreement." His voice twisted together with the Hollow's as he spoke, taking on a quality that made even his own skin crawl. The sound was creepy, that was a given, but it also brought forth a feeling of indescribable nature.

Grimmjow's a "Che" noise, as he came to a stop, standing in front of Ichigo, still looking him over with that scrutinizing gaze. "Whatever, it doesn't change a thing." Self confidence radiated off of him, as he smirked superiorly, like the results from their last match meant nothing and he knew he couldn't lose.

Ichigo was waiting for the blue haired Espada to make the first move, watching for even the slightest twitch in a muscle to indicate the first attack. His blood was pumping; the Hollow, restless and ready to fight, influenced him with his excitement and the maddening need to make the Sexta bleed. Ichigo had been waiting for this rematch for quite some time, glad that it would be his first fight, so he could be at full strength, ready to let everything loose.

Grimmjow leaned forward, whispering low, something Ichigo almost didn't hear. "You fuckin' piss me off." Ichigo swung with his sword, but Grimmjow jumped back, drawing his own. That grin never left his face as he said the two words that really began the battle. "Grind, Pantera."

With a faster, lighter body, and every edge a blade, this was a new game compared to the last time they had met. They rushed at each other, the feral look on their faces matching as if a reflection of the other. Through the first swing, Ichigo's sword condensed to the smaller blade of his bankai, meeting Grimmjow's claws with an ear splitting clash, the shockwave packing the sand around them into a more solid surface and filling the air with dust.

They took to the air, rising above the cloud they had created. A kick armed with razor sharp talons took the ends off of Ichigo's hair, as the black blade put a fine slice in the bone armor just above the hole in Grimmjow's gut.

Ichigo spun around, avoiding a clawed hand aimed for his heart, using the momentum to bring his sword around with him in a full arc. It met empty air as Grimmjow leapt, landing on the object meant to cleave him in two, grabbing Ichigo by the hair and jumped again, he twisted, pulling the orange strands and throwing Ichigo towards the ground below them.

Flipping at the last second, Ichigo landing softly, his feet spread as he crouched. Black and Gold eyes locked onto sharp blue, and he realized, for the first time, that they were laughing. His Hollow and he, Grimmjow… they were all laughing. Ichigo's chuckles were low, deep in his chest, mingled with the wild laughter of his partner; Grimmjow threw back his head, practically howling, as animal like as he looked.

They stopped at nearly the same time, Grimmjow coming down to meet him and he jumped up. With a loud screech that would have made most cringe, metal met claws, Grimmjow's talons slid down his zanpakuto to the hilt, sending sparks into the air. Each time they clashed it reverberated along their limbs, the sheer force behind each other's attacks affecting them even when they were blocked.

"Is that all you've got?" They asked Grimmjow, both he and the Hollow craving more before they ended this. They were hoping to get more of a challenge as they dragged out the fight on purpose, reveling in every moment of it, they were holding back their full strength, only using enough to keep things even, to push their opponent to their limits.

With a burst of reiatsu as a response, Grimmjow's speed increased. Appearing first in front of, then behind Ichigo in what seemed the blink of an eye. "I was giving you a handy cap, 'cause it's no secret you're weak as shit." He left four bleeding scrapes between Ichigo's shoulder blades as he stepped forward half a moment too slow.

"I almost felt that." They were the Hollows words, matching mockery with mockery. Jabbing his sword backwards as he spoke, he slammed the hilt into Grimmjow's chest, cracking armor and ribs beneath. Turning to face the other, his fist collided with Grimmjow's cheek and the Sexta landed a punch to the red-head's stomach, before sending each other back a step from the force.

Grimmjow spat blood, wiping one hand across his mouth, still grinning wildly. Ichigo straightened, dropping the hand that had automatically come up to where he'd been hit. This wasn't a fight, not to either of them. This was a game.

Ichigo swung high, aiming for Grimmjow's neck, the Espada ducked kicking out in a sweeping arc just as Ichigo jumped. Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo by one of his ankles, swinging him around; Ichigo kicked out with is free foot, hitting the other square on the chin. Grimmjow released his grip, flying backwards and kicking up a cloud of sand. Ichigo tumbled in the other direction, sliding to a stop on one knee.

The Sexta stood facing Ichigo as the sand settled back into place. They sized each other up, Hollow and Shinigami versus Arrancar and Espada. They were just about finished with their warm up exercises, and then, the final battle would begin.

-----

"Come on, what are we waiting for? If they're going to be this slow there is no point in even bothering, it'll be over long before we get there."

"Now, be patient." Urahara spoke as if to a small child, ignoring the vein pulsing in the other's forehead. "Until the others arrive you're going to have to sit there."

"Like hell I will, send me through already. I've had enough sitting around and waiting for the next hundred years."

Urahara snapped his fan shut as he adopted one of his rare serious looks on his face- what could be seen of it anyway- the hat did a wonderful job of shadowing the eyes. "Would you want to be left behind?"

"No, I-"

"Then what makes you think the others do?" The question was asked in such a kind tone it could have been nothing else but condescending.

"That's right, Shinigami. I don't think I would be very happy about that." Ishida walked down the stairs to the underground training area hidden beneath the Urahara Shoten, well, by the size, it was under the entire town. "After I saved your life too, Abarai-san," He shook his head, but he was not surprised.

Renji jumped to his feet, "Just because you showed up at the right time doesn't mean shit." He was doing a poor job of hiding his embarrassment as far as the Quincy was concerned.

Sado stood back quietly, watching the exchange; he had arrived at the same time as Ishida and they had walked down together. They were all worried about Ichigo and what was happening to him. No one really knew what was going on, and they didn't really want to discuss it until they had a chance to get the story straight from Ichigo himself. It was worrying, but everyone understood and that saving Orihime took priority; they would wait until a more opportune time, and for now, simply decided to fight alongside each other.

Ishida, arms folded over his chest in a way that would not wrinkle his cape, reached up to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. He refused to get in a shouting match with a Shinigami. "Be that as it may, if I had not shown up when I did, who knows what would have happened?"

He had wanted to speak to Ichigo for some time, it was not entirely pressing when he had first woken up after Hueco Mundo, but it became more so after Ichigo had disappeared then showed up for a few minutes before his reiatsu once again vanished. That was when Ishida knew the matter couldn't wait for discussion any longer. However, Ichigo had been impossible to locate. Not even his family, when Ishida happened to run into one of Ichigo's sisters while in the neighborhood for sewing supplies, had any clue as to where he could be. He eventually did show back up, but he'd been preoccupied in dealing with his father and could not go to confront the Shinigami.

Ishida had been distracted in his conversation with his father, concerned with the change in reiatsu from Ichigo and what it could mean, and it had dragged on much longer than was necessary. He considered waiting until the next day to speak to him, now that he was out of hiding it wasn't something that he should rush, but approach delicately. However, he had not taken into account that Renji was already in Ichigo's company, and delicacy was not in his vocabulary.

What had woken him in the middle of the night wasn't a surge in reiatsu, but the strange feeling of Abarai Renji's fading out. The only way he could think to describe it was that it felt as if Renji's reiatsu was being smothered. It was muted and quickly dying out like a fire with a blanket thrown over it. His concern over the matter rising again, he quickly set out, whatever happened though; he was too late to stop. Ichigo was right there in his home, but on the sidewalk a few blocks away was Renji's body, only a weak pulse of his spirit remained and even then it was fading. He had two options, and one of them lead to this Shinigami's death. So missing his opportunity once more, he dragged the useless idiot to Urahara's shop and hoped that Ichigo wouldn't have this death on his head.

Now they were here, Ichigo a step ahead of them, and they were ready to leave for Hueco Mundo. They had to save Orihime despite what was going on with Ichigo, but they all wanted to know what was happening. None of them mentioned that they were afraid that this was part of Aizen's plot, and that they were going to lose someone else to him, and maybe be able to save neither. Mentioning it would be a jinx, because failure was not an option they had given themselves.

Tensions were high now, as they argued over petty things, waiting for the entrance to Hueco Mundo to be opened. Their bickering, insults, and jabs, were more of a way to relax themselves at the moment, as they couldn't help but feel nervous despite their confidence in winning.

"It doesn't matter." Renji didn't believe he would have died, he trusted Ichigo even if he was making a bad decision right now. This was the same guy who'd run head long into Soul Society to fight anyone who threatened Rukia, this was his friend; he was just worried about what was going to happen to him. Soul Society already thought he was dead, that much Urahara mentioned before, and anyone could guess what was to follow. He just felt that he needed to find Ichigo, give him a good beating, and straighten this whole mess out.

Ishida believed a stern talking to would be more than enough, despite how hardheaded Ichigo could be. He didn't plan on getting involved with the affairs of Shinigami; he just wanted to make sure everyone else would remain safe. He could understand Renji's view though, based on what he had been told, also by how long it took the Shinigami to recover from the events of that night. Nothing was more frustrating than sitting around recuperating when you felt there were more important things at stake.

"Then let's get going." Ishida looked from Renji to Sado. Each of them nodding once that they were ready. They knew there was no guarantee that they would arrive even anywhere near where Ichigo did, definitely not in the same place they had been before, since it had collapsed from the battle the first time, but they were ready for anything they might face.

"If you would follow me," Urahara turned and walked deeper into the training room where the gateway awaited them.

-----

Orihime unexpectedly felt tears come to her eyes as she realized she couldn't feel Grimmjow's reiatsu anymore. It was not like she didn't know that this was going to happen, but somewhere along the way she'd began to think of the Espada like one of her friends, or maybe a potential friend. It was a dumb idea- they weren't capable of feeling for other people, of caring about anything but themselves -but he'd saved her and Ichigo. Just for that he had completely redeemed himself of anything bad in her eyes.

He had lost to Ichigo though, and she hated to admit it, but she'd rather that outcome than any other. It wasn't possible for them to set aside differences… no, they weren't fighting because they were different, she was certain, but because they had something in common.

She shook her head, freeing herself from those distracting thoughts. Right now she had a goal in mind as she raced down the hallway. It was a clear, straight path to her destination. There were no confusing turns or bends in her way now. She ran ahead, thankful for her luck, that whoever was supposed to keep her trapped in that little room and a maze of hallways wasn't paying attention right now.

She was beginning to recognize things as she passed them too, different rooms that she'd seen before, and she knew she was close- or at least headed the right way. The room where Aizen kept the Hyougoku wasn't far, if her memory was correct, and even better was that he was nowhere near her destination, as she could feel his energy source a far ways away.

She slowed her pace to a walk, remembering to be cautious now that she was so close. There were still Arrancar around, still Espada lurking somewhere in the shadows. She knew what would happen if she ran into Nnoitora or Szayel Aporro. Those two were the worst possible options out of anyone she could meet, other than Aizen himself, but Aizen was scary in a different way.

Ulquiorra would stop her, but he wouldn't hurt her. He was the kind to hurt her friends instead, as he'd already threatened to do before. The other Espada she didn't know much about, she hadn't really seen much of them or spoken to them. She remembered the big one, Yammy, he seemed like he could be tricked easily enough. He would probably believe her if she said she was going somewhere on Aizen's orders. Still, the best possible scenario was that she didn't run into anyone until her mission was over with, then she didn't care who it was or what they did, because that way Aizen and his Arrancar would lose no matter what.

She remembered what Grimmjow said to her before, and walked calmly along, like she knew what she was doing and had somewhere to be. She had already put on the white and black clothing; she belonged in this place, that's all she needed to convince them. People don't bother you if you seemed like you know what you're doing, right? Looking suspicious wouldn't help at all. Thankful for his criticism and sad that she would never have the chance to pay him back the favor she owed him- maybe more than one at this point -but what did it matter anymore?

Orihime was aware that no matter how much she prayed and hoped for it, she would not go un-harassed in her journey through Sombre De Los Noches, but it took longer than she thought. Loli and Menori passed by her, and she felt a chill go down her spine; the hair on the back of her neck standing on end. They rushed past her, purposefully averting their eyes, and moving as far from her as they could. As much as it hurt her that they were so terrified of her now, she was glad for it just this once. As they ignored her she ignored them, lowering her head a little, afraid that if they saw her face they would know she was up to something. They passed by her without so much as a glance back, hurrying along to whatever task they had been assigned.

------

A captain's meeting had been called to inform each division that Kurosaki Ichigo had re-entered Hueco Mundo. However, without eyes and ears there it was impossible to tell if he had engaged in combat with the Arrancar or joined Aizen's ranks, or so it had been stated. So, until further notice all divisions were to remain on standby for immediate deployment. Byakuya took that to mean that due to the information Mayuri had released, and briefed them on in this meeting, that it was already set in Yamamoto's mind that the boy was an enemy no matter what course of action he took from this point on. He would be a far more powerful ally, but he could understand the danger Ichigo would pose if he did decide to turn against Soul Society. He had witnessed the hollow powers first hand and knew that if they were to get out of control, considering the growth rate in power, they would suffer heavy casualties in a battle. They were to focus on the bigger and more immediate threats first, of course.

It was difficult news considering the current situation he was dealing with regarding Rukia. She had not relaxed since their discussion, per say; however, she seemed to be thinking far more clearly than she had been before. The official reason he was to give on putting his division on alert was that there had been increased activity in Hueco Mundo, Rukia would know better, so he would have to find a way to sooth her nerves. She would make the same connections he had as to what this really meant for her companion, no matter what he told her.

At this rate, being able to fight properly against the Arrancar or not, Byakuya was quite sure she would attempt to go anyway. He would have to find an alternate solution to keep her out of harm's way, one that she would not argue with. If she had listened to his opinion thus far there was a good chance she would continue to. He couldn't say he entirely trusted her judgment when it came to her so called friends; however, he had seen Kurosaki Ichigo's dedication first hand. Perhaps it was more the fact that he did not trust Kurotsuchi Mayuri in the least.

On that note, he decided to take a page out of his vice captain's book for this matter. He would speak to Yamamoto himself and settle both his own and the overall problem with a compromise of sorts. There were things that he knew were out of his control, but at minimum, this he could do something about that would meet his ends in a manner that wouldn't involve locking Rukia in a four by four mat room.

He had made a promise to keep her safe, but for more than just that reason he wanted to do it. He was not ready to admit as much, or let her know of it. Perhaps she had come to mean more to him than just the sister of his wife, but what she meant now was something he was still trying to place. At the moment it was not a relevant issue; all that mattered was doing what he could do in such a limited situation. To his advantage, his division was one of the better suited for the job besides the second; he only had to appeal to Yamamoto, which he himself was best suited for of anyone in Seiretei. The fact that Renji was still missing only furthered his advantage in this matter all the more. He was confident in his decision's effectiveness.

Coming to the conclusion that best course of action was to act now; he made his way to the first division head quarters. There was only one other thing he would have to see to before his departure.


	16. Little Surprises

"What are you waiting for? Bring it out!" Grimmjow was covered in more than a dozen wounds, but none of them were deep enough to be anything more than an annoyance. "What the hell is this shit?! You really intend to beat me with this; me, of all people?"

Black and Gold eyes narrowed, Ichigo didn't need his mask to defeat Grimmjow, and he knew that. "Just use it Aibou, give him a taste of our real power. Show him what we can do." He and the Hollow had been fighting together up until this point, their minds working together, their reiatsu meshing, but it wasn't anything, they weren't even trying. The Hollow was whispering in his mind, urging him on, to use their power.

"Fine," Reaching up, he pulled his left hand over his face in a raking motion. His right arm hung at his side, holding his zanpakutou in a tight grip. A white and red bone mask formed over his face, dissolving out of thin air; it was the first time he had called upon it since his last fight with Grimmjow. It was weightless, like it wasn't even there, just another part of his face, but with the surge of power running through his body he couldn't tell the difference.

Ichigo knew the mask took on a different shape than it ever had before, and Ichigo somehow knew the patterns that adorned the colorless bone without even looking at it. Horns protruded from the sides, curving forward, sharply angling along his cheekbones, and ending in a vicious point. The blood-red designs were different than those of the other mask he had used; they started from the top and streaked down over the dark shadowed holes for his eyes. The jaw of the bone mask extended further down, showing a skeleton-like row of jagged, sharp teeth. This wasn't its full form, but it was more than it had been before when he could only hold it his hollow's power for a mere eleven seconds. There was more than just a mask at this point; it was a transformation. The very skin of the red head seemed to be peeling, allowing a pale, smooth bone surface to be revealed along the hands, wrist, and chest.

"You look fucking stupid." Grimmjow sneered, examining the mask. "And no matter how stupid you look it still won't be enough."

Ichigo, and the Hollow in him, smirked, the expression spreading over his lips and hidden behind the skeletal grin of his mask. The world looked different through eyes like this, his body felt lighter, like everything was a dream and he was just watching and feeling second hand. The Hollow's grip on his mind was firmer now, and he couldn't hear that twisted voice, instead of knowing the thoughts as if they were his own. It didn't even occur to him that he was losing himself to the darkness inside of him.

Everything moved in slow motion, he stepped forward, watching first shock then anger spread over Grimmjow's face as he brought up his armored hands, too slow to block a slice from his collar down across to the opposite hip. Dark blood hit his mask, running down the side of it, invisible against the crimson markings.

Grimmjow fell, as if his legs had lost their strength and he took a headfirst dive to the ground below, falling the hundred or so feet from their mid-air battle. "That's it," both the Hollow and Ichigo asked, their voices in completely synchronicity. Disappointment filled their voice, but what had they expected, how could someone like this stand up to their power?

He was ready for his next opponent, for the next fight to fill the void where his heart should be. This had been amusing up to a point.

"Where do you think you're going?" He looked back over his shoulder, Grimmjow picking himself up off the ground, sand sticking wetly to the blood pouring down his chest. "This isn't over yet. You think you can beat me with that? Don't you fuckin' underestimate me, Kurosaki!"

"What is that?" The Hollow and Shinigami watched as Grimmjow lifted one hand into the air, his reiatsu gathering around it long ribbons.

"This is my strongest technique." Grimmjow's confidence was unwavering, his disgust with this fight clear in his voice. "You're finished Kurosaki, you will lose to me!" He brought his arm down in a powerful sweeping gesture.

"I am the King!" He shouted as his technique hit, putting all of his strength into it. His blood matted hair blowing back from the force of the impact.

"What the hell is this King shit?" The bands of reiatsu shattered like gloss against Ichigo's bare hand, not even bothering to raise his weapon against the enemy he already considered defeated and as good as dead. "You were my first target. Just as you said, I came to Hueco Mundo to fight with you. I came here to defeat you Grimmjow." His voice rang clearly, loudly across the distance between them as he looked down on Grimmjow who could barely stand on his feet. "I will defeat Ulquiorra, I will defeat Aizen, and I will defeat anyone else who stands in my way."

"Like hell I'd ever lose to someone like you." Grimmjow leaped into the air and rushed to the transformed Shinigami, a cero gathered in the palm of his hand, one more powerful than he had ever used before. "Gran Rey Cero," Ichigo did not move, did not even try to dodge as the Sexta brought his palm forward, releasing the charged energy straight into the man's chest.

After the deafening explosion, the light cleared to reveal Ichigo holding Grimmjow's wrist in one hand, his sword buried up to the hilt just above the Espada's Hollow hole. Blue eyes met gold, neither blinking as a huge white column behind Ichigo crumbled and crashed to the ground.

"Fuck you…" Slowly, the Espada slipped down, his weight acting against him as he fell off the blade of the sword, his release form reverting back into a zanpakutou, sheathed at his waist. Ichigo held him there by his wrist, dangling him above the sand as he hung limply. He let the body slide through his fingers; the body of his opponent disintegrating before the carcass even hit the ground, blown away as if in some breeze. All that remained of the Sexta Espada was a sword in the sand.

------

Renji and Ishida stepped out into the barren wasteland that was Hueco Mundo, Sombre de Las Noches looming above them, stark white and imposing. Renji suppressed a shudder at seeing this place again. "'Can't say I'm glad to be back."

Ishida pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, calmly surveying the area, it had not changed at all since the last visit. "We need to find Inoue and then Kurosaki."

Sado, as always, seemed an immovable force standing there, both physically and mentally. "It's going to be difficult."

"Yeah," Renji said, analyzing Ichigo's reiatsu in the distance; it wasn't close, more like the other side of the looming castle before them. "What the hell happened to you?" He muttered under his breath, the spiritual energy felt more Hollow than either Shinigami or human. That bastard inside of Ichigo was eating everything that was left of the idiot.

"No point standing around." Ishida started off, none of them were going to back out of this despite having nearly died before. That was the price of friendship, and they'd be damned if they were going to pay it for the likes of Ichigo. Renji was sure that if he beat him upside the head enough, he'd fix whatever was broken in there and that would be good enough.

Finding a way in was too easy, and remembering what had happened the last time, all of them were wary of what awaited them. It wasn't like they had been slacking off or anything, Renji had used every moment of his free time training, not that he had much of it up until now. He couldn't say he was looking forward to another run in with the Octava Espada.

The hallways were just the same as they had been before, white and undecorated. They didn't bother keeping track of where they were or where they'd been. Renji and Ishida had learned the hard way that they got to go wherever the Espada wanted them to go, it was just a matter of whose territory they were in.

"Wasn't it… noisier last time?" Things were strangely quiet as they searched through the maze before them, heading towards Orihime's reiatsu somewhere near the center of the impossibly large building.

"Nel," Sado pointed out the absence of the little girl and her companions. Renji didn't much like Peche or Don Don Chaka, but he worried about them anyway. They'd been left behind, from what he heard, taken away during Ichigo's fight with the Sexta Espada along with Orihime. They were Arrancar, though that was hard to believe. He hoped they were okay.

"Now that you mention it, I wonder what happened to her." The Quincy slowed his pace, as did the rest of them as they entered a wider area, a walled in open space, the floor turning into desert and the ceiling into sky.

"You want to know what happened to that little bitch?" An impossibly tall Arrancar, taller than even Kenpachi, stepped out of the shadows. Like the tenth division captain, this one wore an eye patch over one eye; however the docile looking Arrancar who trailed behind him didn't look like the fight-loving sort.

Sado wasted no time, his reiatsu spiked and armor covered both his arms. Renji didn't need the cue to draw his own sword, and a spider web like bow formed in the Quincy's hand.

A momentary look of disappointment flashed over the Arrancar's face. "You again," His eye fell on Sado. "And the rest of you were beaten by Szayel Aporro. What a waste of time."

"Who the hell are you?" Renji had drawn Zabimaru in shikai, ready for bankai at any moment, and he had the feeling he'd need it against this guy.

"Tesla, these guys are yours." The Arrancar walked off, sitting himself on a rock not too far away to watch how events would unfold. He placed his elbow on his knee and his chin on an upturned hand.

"Yes Nnoitra-sama." The small blond stepped forward, sword in hand, the blade near the hilt divided into a circle leaving an opening in the blade.

A smile returned however, showing all of his teeth in a menacing way. "I'll tell you what happened to Nelliel Tu Odelschwanck." Renji would guess by the way he was ordering the other Arrancar around that it was the same as Szayel Aporro and his Fraccion, which would make Nnoitra an Espada.

"Crush, Verruga." Tesla released his zanpakutou, transforming from the small meek looking man he was, into a towering, muscular creature with a boar's head.

Ishida notched an arrow, Sado crouched, ready to rush forward and attack or defend, and they waited to see who would strike first. The three of them should be able to take a Fraccion on their own; they'd have to if they wanted to stand up to an Espada.

Nnoitra grin grew wider still as he watched; if that was possible, seeming to laugh at something only he knew. "I killed her."

Ishida was the first to react, losing an arrow not at the hulking beast before them, but at its master. However, Tesla was faster than they thought for such a size, moving to take the damage instead of Nnoitra.

Renji swung the huge form of Zabimaru around Tesla, the weapon transforming from the small metal form to its bankai, the bones clacking loudly against each other as them came crashing down on Nnoitra.

The bones settled, Nnoitra hadn't moved save for one hand; the arm was raised and the pale fingers held the bankai at bay. Sado had rushed forward, struggling hand to hand with Tesla; he looked miniature in comparison to the Arrancar's released form. Ishida was on the move, searching for a clear shot as to not catch anyone in the cross fire.

"Oh," Nnoitra stood. "What would you care if I killed her?" He was remained unconcerned as Renji wrenched his zanpakutou away and out of his grip. "She should have been dead a long time ago; I don't know how she managed to survive, stripped of her rank and power." He walked forward, his huge weapon slung over his shoulder, double crescent blades reflecting the light and chain dragging on the ground behind him. "She didn't deserve to be an Espada, and she didn't deserve to live."

-----

Ichigo blasted his way through another wall, cutting his way through Las Noches. His hollow mask was gone, but his eyes remained their odd coloring. His goal was deeper in the castle: Orihime, and Aizen. He would save one and defeat the other.

He had seen few other Arrancar since his fight, none were Espada, however. They were nothing and so he consumed them, filling the hole where his heart should have been. It ate away at him, clawing at him, demanding he destroy everything. He resisted it; resisted its temptation as he calmly walked through the gaping hole into yet another white hallway. This was not the time to hunt and kill; he had a goal, someone to save.

He felt other reiatsu, ones he knew. A Shinigami, Renji the name echoed through his mind, a Quincy Ishida and a human Chad. His friends were here, in Hueco Mundo, fighting against a powerful reiatsu. "Another fight," The thought crossed his mind, before it faded.

Why was Renji here? Hadn't he returned to Soul Society and betrayed him for what he was, even though this was for everyone else's sake? Isn't that what the Hollow said? Where else would his reiatsu have disappeared to, why would he leave in the middle of the night like that? Each question passed quickly and were just as quickly forgotten.

Sado he could trust, their friendship was strong, and Ishida was a good guy- if a little stuck up. Though he'd thought the same about the Shinigami, they were friends with Orihime nonetheless and would put her first. Once this battle was over he could deal with them and whatever they threw at him. It was too much to bother about now, he was the one who abandoned them anyway.

"Relax, they couldn't do shit to us if they wanted to. Leave them; we have our own battles to win." The Hollow spoke to him, moving his legs for him not allowing him to falter, their minds in sync, urging him forward. "They came even though we are here, selfishly putting themselves in danger, not trusting us to save her. Not trusting us at all. Let them get a little bruised up, it'll teach 'em."

Ichigo's grip tightened on the hilt of his black sword; they were up against an Espada- that much he could tell. The reiatsu wasn't quite as strong as Ulquiorra's, closer in level to Grimmjow's. The Hollow wasn't interested in anyone like that, and he kept influencing Ichigo to just end this now and not make any detours. He was right, they'd thrown themselves into this mess on their own, they could at least hold out until the important part was taken care of. Next up was another Espada, a higher rank and a more promising fight. He lay ahead, not far, and directly in the path between Orihime and him.

"We'll destroy everything in our way, Aibou." He wanted to fight- they wanted to. Ichigo didn't find it odd admitting to that, like he would have in the past. It only seemed natural to fight or die right now, to struggle for survival. He remembered the brief flash of this feeling before when he fought Kenpachi, and even before that the first time he and Renji had crossed swords what seemed an eternity ago. Never had the feeling been as strong as this, but he knew it had been there, always on the edge of his mind.

"Right, let's go."

He didn't feel the smirk spread across his lips; the action completely of his other half.

-----

Orihime dropped to her knees, a powerful reiatsu bearing down on her, crushing her until she fought to simply breath. She knew this signature too well by now, "Ulquiorra."

The Cuatra Espada stood not far from her, calm and collected as always. He didn't look at her but at something off in the distance, as if he could see through the walls towards where Ichigo raced towards them. His cold green eyes turned his head following as his gaze locked on her. "Aizen-sama wishes to speak with you."

The pressure let up slightly and it she found it easier to take in oxygen again. Orihime got to her feet, a much more difficult task than it should have been, all the while, her mind raced. Aizen wanted to see her? Maybe he knew what she planned, but there was no way. She hadn't mentioned it or given any clues, even if he did know she'd been sneaking around before, he couldn't have known her purpose, right?

Ulquiorra didn't wait for a response, turning and walking down a side hallway she had not noticed before. She followed silently, head hung in defeat. Her plans had been ruined now that she was in his grasp. She could wait for Ichigo to catch up, but how soon would that be? They wouldn't just let him cut his way through Sombre de Las Noches unchecked.

She could feel the other Espada's reiatsu, the excitement in them. They were all ready to fight, to kill her friends if they got the chance. Orihime just prayed that everyone would be all right, though she didn't understand what Ishida, Sado, and Renji were doing on the other side of the castle, or why other Shinigami were at another location entirely from the rest of them. It was like three different groups working independently, rather than everyone working together.

She was brought to the room that had been her goal from the start, where she knew Aizen kept the Hyougoku. It was entirely empty of the man or any other Arrancar, just her and Ulquiorra alone.

"Wait here." The Espada turned, walking back out of the room, "Aizen-sama will be here shortly, until then, do not move."

"Wait." She called out, not sure why she wanted to stop him, she just had a bad feeling. "Where are you going?"

Ulquiorra stopped, turning those soulless yes back on her again. "To deal with a pest," Then he was gone, back the way they had come, back towards Ichigo.

"Kurosaki-kun," He wouldn't lose- couldn't lose -he was too strong for that. She had faith in her friends. Besides, now was not the time to worry, this was her chance to do what she had come for, before Aizen came to greet her.

Balling her hands into fists she moved towards the throne on a raised pedestal, white and uncomfortable looking, imposing in its simplicity. She couldn't be scared of this; she had made up her mind and would stop at nothing to end this war once and for all. It seemed like the longest walk of her life, traveling the length of the room. This room where she had healed Grimmjow's arm and scar; watched him kill another Arrancar. This room, where Aizen ruled over all of Hueco Mundo…

As she reached the throne, Orihime stretched out one hand tentatively, triggering the mechanism to release the Hyougoku. It opened easily, the small object sitting there safely; inconspicuously for how dangerous it was to everyone. She swallowed, taking a deep breath and bringing up her other hand, facing them both towards it, palms out.

"I reject."

-----

Byakuya's plan had not turned out quite how he had intended, finding out for the first time just how stubborn Rukia actually was. She had never spoken back to him or defied his wishes, so it had come as quite a shock when she had put her foot down. He supposed that in certain situations, such was to be expected even of the most unlikely of people, and despite being disrespectful he felt that it was a good thing that she finally acted herself around him instead of quiet and reserved.

It wasn't much of an argument, honestly, and he had somehow agreed to let her come along, as his acting vice captain, while Renji remained missing. It had gone over better than he had thought with Yamamoto as well, even with the dissenting opinion of Mayuri on the matter. So they had set out immediately for Hueco Mundo, but only after strict instruction that Rukia was to follow his every command to the letter. In return he would warn Kurosaki Ichigo of the charges against him.

When they arrived he did not miss how Rukia tensed up, he could see the distracted look in her eyes, perhaps remembering her battle the last time she was here- or just a reaction to how Hollow Ichigo's reiatsu had become. Both of them noticed, however, that there was one reiatsu here they should both recognize. Abarai Renji was alive. Byakuya wouldn't say that fact put him at ease, but that would make things a bit easier in the long run.

"We have little time to waste." They had managed to put themselves in the castle, not deep into it, even the advantages Soul Society had were not enough to put them right at the center. It was enough that they had successfully infiltrated an area clear of Arrancar activity. Ichigo was moving closer to them, more aptly, closer to the center of the castle, and that was better than being on the far side from them.

Rukia nodded, and they began their exploration of this white place humming with hostile energy. Before they had even left, Byakuya instructed her to keep her reiatsu suppressed so they seemed like minor threats; it increased their chances of avoiding strong resistance as they moved. The last thing they needed was half the Espada forces launching an attack. That seemed unnecessary with the way the others were fighting; beacons of power meant to draw all attention upon them-selves.

Byakuya was aware that there would be those here who would disguise their presence, much as he and Rukia had. He was also aware that in this place they had the advantage over such things. Thus he was not surprised when the hallways suddenly widened into a large room, once again revealing plain white walls, undecorated save for the occasional pillar that extended up to the impossibly high ceiling.

"Arrogantly entering our domain, did you not think you would be stopped?" A large man, with dark skin and a bone mask in the form of spikes along the center of his head awaited them. He drew his sword calmly. "This is as far as you will go, Shinigami."

Byakuya placed his hand on the hilt of Senbonzakura, waiting for the correct moment to move. "That haori, I suppose you are of Captain Class?" The question was more of a statement, his tone indicating that he knew he was right. "I am the Septima Espada, Zommari Leroux. Now, identify yourself, intruder."

"I need not answer, for we have but one true form; your enemies." The Espada was speaking down to him; such an opponent did not warrant an answer like an equal. He gestured for Rukia to stand back, out of his way.

"True." Zommari dismissed the question. "I must inform you that if you have any thoughts of making it past this point that your efforts are futile."

"I don't comprehend, what do you mean 'Futile'?" He was quickly growing tired of this.

Zommari image seemed to blur, then he was behind Byakuya sword raised. "This."

Using shunpo to dodge the attack before it landed, Byakuya turned to set eyes on the damage; where he had once been standing were now two of the Espada, one the original, one a clone. "What is this?"

"Gemelos Sonido; among the Espada my Sonido is the fastest." The second form faded as he spoke, leaving only the real one. "If I increase my steps even the slightest it produces clones. I suppose you could say it's a game of magic tricks. This one is designed to surprise the enemy, so if you are unable to follow me due to shock… do not feel embarrassed."

"I see." He drew his zanpakutou. "Instead, you should be ashamed. You have just revealed your secrets to me at the beginning of this battle." He stepped forward, using shunpo to slice down and across the chest of his enemy.

"Regrettable. Gemelos Sonido is not limited to two clones." There were now three of the Espada around him, the one he had sliced, another clone and the original.

"I had assumed as much." Byakuya looked over his shoulder at the one who had spoken, raising his arm behind his haori. "Hadou number four, Byakurai." A beam of light shot from the palm of his hand, piercing Zommari's chest; he fell to the ground silently. The number of clones increased from there, from three to five.

Zommari began to speak. "The number of clones can grow to five at maximum." Yet another of the forms spoke, different than the one who had started the sentence. Calm as before, the five of them moved at once, all of them thrusting forward with their swords. "Farewell, Captain whose name I never knew. The reason for your defeat is the arrogance that kept you from telling me your name."

Rukia gasped, covering her mouth with her hands, watching as things progressed. She took several steps forward, hand on the hilt of her sword. She stopped though, noticing at the same time Zommari did that he had pierced nothing but an empty haori.

"Way of the Onmitsu, way of the Shihou: Utsusemi." Byakuya announced, standing on the far side of the only image of the Septima Espada left, Zommari's eyes widened as he realized what had happened. "I did not want to use that woman's techniques." Yoruichi had taught him many things but he did not like to incorporate them unless necessary. "The arrogant one is you Espada, but be at ease; the reason for your loss is not that arrogance. It is a difference in power."

"Arrogant? Me? What would make you think that?" Zommari lifted his arms in a broad gesture as he spoke. "You are my enemy, but of Captain class, I think of us as equals and intend to act as such. There is no such thing as arrogance within me."

Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the statement. "An Arrancar thinking himself an equal to me? That is a form of pride in itself."

"It seems that arrogance is part of your nature." Zommari took his zanpakutou placing it horizontally before his chest where it floated as he lowered his arms and widened his stance. "Then allow me to take that pride and destroy it to the very core of your being." His forefinger and middle finger curled up to meet his thumb. "Abate," His head turned at a ninety degree angle, his neck twisting impossibly, "Brujeria."


End file.
